Until the Last Rose Dies
by VioletRose136
Summary: Dimitri was never turned. Him and Rose must endure relationship Drama, and Strigoi Attacks that threaten to push them to the limit. They say True Love Conquers All... but seriously, does it? Or better, can it? RosexDimitri R&R. Some M-rated Chapters.
1. The Beginning

**.A.N. **

**For those of you who are my new readers, this is the Edited Version of the same story that I have completed. I decided to redo it, because the first Draft of Until the Last Rose Dies, has gotten over 400 reviews, and is the tenth most revieiwed story on the Vampire Academy FanFiction page. I think I can bump this one up to at least seventh. Can you guys help me? **

**At long last! An update! Though I'm sorry that it isn't for **_Dazzle Me: A Rose and Christian Story_** or **_Peace Above All Earthly Dignities_** (those, my friends, along with this one, will be updated on Saturday—I promise). But this, my friends, is the completely fixed version of Until the Last Rose Dies, once I'm done with this one—I'll delete the original—saving FanFiction the pain of doing that for me. **

**As a lot of you have heard. There is a group of people on here (I'm not sure who they are, and I'm not asking) who are trying to get a number of Member's stories deleted due to wrong spelling/grammar. I know that the first chapter (as many of the chapters of UTLRD) have bad spelling/grammar. Also, I took a lot of the scenes from Twilight, and I'm going to fix all of that. So this story (which I'm proud of) will not have a reason to be taken down. I'm going to send an email to FanFiction, and ask them to stop doing this. I recommend you do the same. Go to "Help" on the website, and send an email to "Report Abuse". We need to stop this. It has been going on for too long. **

**Please review! I hope you'll like this new version! The plot will remain kind of the same, but I'm going to take out some parts that I think slowed the story down. And add in some new ones that I think you guys will really like. So, I'll shut up now. I hope you like this!**

**Enjoy! And please don't forget to review!**

**Take Care,**

**~RozaRedbird~**

Until the Last Rose Dies Special Edition

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Dimitri knew I was out of it. We'd been fighting for an hour, and I hadn't been able to land a blow on him once. Which, to be honest, annoyed the hell out of me. He suddenly stopped trying to attack me, and stepped forward hesitantly, as if he didn't know what he was doing. He stroked my cheek lightly, his brown eyes gazing down at me. Closing my eyes I sighed, and placed my hand over his, I glanced up at him through my eyelashes.

He was beautiful, as always. Nothing had changed there. The only difference to his face—which I had become more-or-less used to, was the jagged scar that ran from just below his right eyebrow, across the top of his nose, and ended just beneath his left eye. He had received that from the Strigoi attack—or more appropriately, Nathan, the Blonde Strigoi, who had been polite enough to introduce himself to me, before I staked him.

To be honest, I didn't think the scar detracted from his beauty in anyway whatsoever. I thought it made him even more beautiful. Not all scars are badges of honour—some are very much the opposite. But I truly believed, with all my heart and soul, that Dimitri's scar, was honestly and truly, a badge of honour. Had he not been so concerned for me, and the rest of us, when we where running out of the caves—making our retreat. He would have noticed the Strigoi, before they had attacked.

My eyes moved down his face, to his neck, where two more small scars rested. Only I had noticed him being bitten—which resulted in the bites not being treated by Lissa, or anyone else, which had untimely resulted in them scaring Dimitri's neck. With my other hand, I reached up, and stroked the two perfectly round marks. I leaned forward, and kissed them. Dimitri waited until I had pulled back, and was able to meet his eyes once again.

"Come on, Roza," He whispered, "What's wrong today? You can always beat me."

I shook my head, "I don't know. I'm tired. I just… I mean… I don't know. I want you, and want this to be over."

"Want what to be over?" He looked confused.

"This—"I gestured around us, "I've been studying to be a Guardian for eighteen years. I practically knew how to fight before I knew how to walk! Graduation is two weeks away, and trails only a week away. How do you expect me to keep 'reviewing' all the moves, when I know them so well?"

He sighed, "How else do you think we could spend time together?"

"Why can't we come out and say it? I'm not ashamed about how I feel about you. And I know you aren't either. What's so wrong then?"

"What, as you want to put it, 'so wrong' is the fact that we have been fortunate enough to avoid any…" he looked for the right words, "… any mishaps. There is only suspicion, from Alberta—who strangely enough seems to accept it—and Kirova, and nonetheless, your own Mother. They don't have any proof, and until we can safely tell them, without any large risk to you, or me. I don't want to push our luck."

"Do you even care about what I'm saying? I love you, I _want _you." My voice was harsher then I meant it to be when I tried to explain what I meant.

"Of course I understand. And, obviously, I _want_--" a sly glance in my direction, making me blush, "as you decided to put it—you as much as you want me. Possibly more, in fact." He pretended to look thoughtful, "In fact, I think I do want you more. I thought it wasn't possible. But, after I've slept with you," His expression turned mocking, and he put on a terrible British accent, "I can barley fathom the passion I feel for you."

His attempt to make me laugh worked; I slapped his arm playfully,

"That accent was terrible."

"Have you ever heard a British accent?" He asked vaguely, "Or have you heard every accent, other then that?"

"I'm half British, remember? My Mom is Scottish." I smiled, "But, no, I've never been there. Does that mean I'm a bad Subject to her Majesty?"

Dimitri laughed, and pulled me into a kiss—that was one of the reasons that he had started up our training sessions again—so he could be alone with me, without the risk. I wound my fingers into his hair and kissed him feverishly, never wanting it to end—and to be honest, if the world had ended right then, and there. I would have died happy.

He pulled back, a wide grin across his face; he was clearly in a good mood today. I hadn't seen him in such a good mood since the night before the Strigoi attack—when we where walking back from the cabin. His hand in mine, everything seeming golden and wonderful, but, that had been before Mason had showed up.

"I swear, you'll be the death of me." He laughed, kissing me again, and again, and again.

Happy playing soon turned to lust and passion. So many of these blissfully wonderful kisses—what I had been longing for. He smiled against my lips. And began to pull away, I kept him firmly locked against me, that is, I tried to. But he proved to strong for me to restrain for any length of time, and he easily pushed back through my arms, like he was pushing through water.

"Was that really necessary?" I pouted.

"Rose… if we get carried away in here… do you actually realize what would happen if somebody walked in?"

"I wouldn't care."

"Roza," His firm gaze locked with mine, though the smile still remained on his lips, "I would. I still want to be able to live."

"Nobody would kill you,"

"Your Mother would." He answered dryly, "Come on, time's nearly up, lets get this stuff put away."

I smiled back at him, and followed him into the supply closest, as we put everything away. Just as I was about to walk into the changing room, I turned, and smiled slyly at Dimitri,

"This top is kind of tight," I slurred, "I might need help getting over my head,"

He was about to decline, when he nodded, "I guess I could help you with that."

I was late coming out of the gym. Dimitri stood by my side as we exited, I looked around, and it appeared that nobody was around. I was surprised—I thought we'd been loud enough for the entire campus to hear us. To be honest—I half expected the entire school to be waiting for us when we came out. Dawn was spreading across the sky.

"Wow." I heard him say, "You take awhile to get changed, Roza."

"I was… busy,"

He surprised me, by wrapping his arm around my waist, and pulling me under a tree,

"Doing what, Miss. Hathaway?" He whispered.

I was so surprised by this playfulness. Then I realized—this is what the walk back from the cabin should have been like—playful, teasing, and not what it had turned out to be. So, I decided to answer with the first word that came into my mind,

"Mating,"

Dimitri raised an eyebrow, "Mating?"

"Yeah. Like Elephants."

"We're not Elephants."

"Then give me a better way to explain it to you." I challenged him. "It is the time of year for Mating anyway." I added.

He released me, and we walked awhile longer, just before we walked into the dorms, I kissed him goodbye, since nobody was around, and turned away, but just I did, Dimitri spoke.

"Grooving to the Beat of Love,"

I turned the door half open. "Excuse me?"

He smiled wryly at me, "We where Grooving to the Beat of Love."

I was silent.

"In answer to your question," he smirked, "It's far more… expressive then Mating. Though Mating is a more scientific term, I'll admit."

I laughed, "I love you. Goodnight Dimitri."

"I love you too."

He turned, and began walking towards the Staff Rooms. I watched until he was hidden by shadows, and smiled to myself. I turned the knob, and walked inside the Dhampir Dorms. I opened the door to my room, and was greeted with the strangest sight I had yet to see today.

Lissa was waiting for me on my bed. That was completely normal. But Christian was there also. I inspected the bed. It didn't appear any more rumpled then when I had crawled out of it this morning. Christian had been my "charge" for the past six weeks, but trails had finished a week ago. I closed the door behind me.

"Um. Not meaning to sound rude here, guys," I paused, "But why the hell is Christian in my room?"

Lissa smiled, "We wanted to tell you something,"

"Aw crap. You're not pregnant are you? If she is, I swear to god I will shove a freakin' stake through your ass, Fire Boy." I added, before either of them could answer.

"No. I'm not pregnant." Lissa said, I could feel intense excitement coming from her, "Rose, Christian and I are engaged!"

I was dumbfounded. It was a minute before I could speak.

"You're seventeen."

"Christian is eighteen." She supplied, "And we're not going to get married for a long time."

I could feel some tension building in the room. I knew through the bond that Lissa was telling the truth when she said she wasn't pregnant. But I also knew that Lissa and Christian had been fighting a lot. Had he just asked her to marry him to fix everything? Had she only said yes to save their relationship? I could feel the love she felt for him through the bond—it was more, friendly, and playful, then the intense love I felt for Dimitri. But it didn't seem like it was fully satisfying her.

I decided right there and then, that I would be happy for Lissa. I knew Christian loved her. That was clear; he had wiped away all her tears. He had stood by her, through the bleakest and most terrible parts of the darkness. I allowed a wide grin—that I realized wasn't forced—to stretch across my face. I leapt forward, and hugged Lissa hard, before I hugged Christian too,

"I'm so happy for both you!"

Then I realized the tension wasn't coming from Lissa, it was coming from me. The jealousy and tension, I had told Lissa about Dimitri in March—and the same day she finally convinced him to let her finish off his broken arm, and stitches—he hadn't broken a leg, luckily. Only dislocated a shoulder, which I'd later read was one of the most painful things that could happen to a Human being—or a Dhampir in this case, and a lot of cuts, including the one on his face.

I was feeling this way, because, Lissa had the perfect love life. She could be open about it. She had the confidence and power to be open about it, and let people think what they wanted too. I also realized then—and with some horror—that I wanted to marry Dimitri. Badly. The idea of marriage had always scared me. But now I realized there was nothing I wanted more.


	2. When I See Your Smile

**.A.N.**

**An update a day early! Thank you all so much for the awesome reviews! I'll try and get around to replying to all of them this weekend. Here's the next chapter. You guys are so awesome. You can expect one tomorrow too :). Keep the reviews up! Think we can get to twenty before tomorrow's update? ;) **

**Thanks for all the reviews guys! **

**Take care,**

**~RozaRedbird~**

Until the Last Rose Dies Special Edition  
Chapter 2: When I See Your Smile

I woke up groggy and dazed the next morning. My arm was flung across my eyes. It was a few minutes before I actually registered that I was awake. Then, my eyes flew open. I sat up, running a hand through my hair trying to figure out why I was so tired. How late had I gone to bed last night? Lissa was engaged, that was what I remembered first, and then I remembered that it had taken over an hour for me to 'change' out of my gym clothes, and finally, third, I remembered that it was Saturday. I sighed, lustfully, and sank back down into the pillows.

After a minute, I became aware that another person was breathing. At first, I hadn't really noticed it, but as I changed my breathing tone slightly, I realized that it was different. Raising myself on my elbows, I looked across the room, to where a very smug looking Dimitri sat in my desk chair. He hadn't been there when I'd gone to sleep. The last time I'd seen him was last night, outside the dorm, around nine. Lissa and Christian had left around eleven, and I'd fallen asleep reading.

Dimitri certainly hadn't been there.

"Whoa, am I hallucinating, or did you seriously break into my room in the middle of the night?" I paused, "Trying to play Edward, are we?"

Dimitri made a face, and stood up, "You where late for practice. I came to get you… I meant to knock on the door, but it was ajar. You really do have to lock it, Roza."

"Oh. How long have you been here?" I asked, getting out of bed,

I felt like an idiot for not wearing the sleekly strappy nightgown that Lissa had forced me to buy back in Oregon that was shoved somewhere in my drawers. Instead, I wore plaid flannel trousers, and a camisole.

"Not long." He looked away, and seemed like he was putting something off.

"Oh." I inspected his face closely, "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am."

"Not again," I said, "No, Dimitri, no, you aren't going to start giving me that speech on what we did was yesterday wrong, and how we never should have done it—and how its never going to happen again."

"If I didn't give you that speech the first time," He said vaguely, "What makes you think that I'm going to a second time?"

"But…" I looked away, "Um. It was not as… innocent… as the first time."

Dimitri threw back his head and laughed at this. I listened to the sound of his laughter, transfixed. Watching him happy, always made me happy.

"Still that's no reason to go into that speech. Plus, I think you know me well enough to know that, I only give out that speech when I honestly think that what somebody, or what I did, was wrong." His face turned serious, "I don't think what we did was wrong."

I nodded, "I know. I love you."

"I love you too." He paused, looking around the room, seeming to gather the strength to say something, "Um, Roza?"

"Hmm?"

"What would you say to meeting my family?" He asked casually, but I could see the tension behind his eyes.

My heart rate increased. My breath stopped, and I froze, and was barley able speak the two words that crossed my lips,

"Your family?" I asked dumbstruck. Did they even know I existed?

He nodded, "Yes. I told them about you a little after the Strigoi Attack—they're all really eager to meet you. Viktoria especially," He shook his head in disbelief, "You will have to be careful about her, though, she might try to drag you into Novosibirsk, and shower you with new clothes that you can't afford—or don't really want to buy."

"Viktoria?" I asked, "Who is she?"

"My younger sixteen year old sister," He answered, "Do you want to, though, Rose? I mean, after graduation, you have an entire month off before your duties start. That would be plenty of time to get to Baia, spend a few weeks there, and then come back here."

"Would they even approve of me?!" I asked.

"Sonya might be a bit hard," He admitted at last, "She's expecting a baby next month—and so I hear, she's not the least bit pleasant when she's pregnant. To be honest—she's not that pleasant when she isn't pregnant. Karolina will love you, Paul will go absolutely insane, and Zoya's just a baby, so she won't notice you."

"Paul? Karolina? Sonya? Who the hell are these people!?"

"Paul is my nephew. Karolina is Paul's Mother, and my older sister, Sonya is also my older sister, Yeva is my Grandmother, Olena is my Mother, and… Zoya is my niece. Happy?"

"There are so many of them."

He had crossed the room in less then too seconds—a result of how fast Dhampirs could move—and locked me in an iron grasp—so I couldn't look away from his eyes.

"Quit stalling," He ordered, "Will you come with me, or won't you?"

"Will you go anyway?" I asked quietly, that might make my decision easier, maybe, probably not.

He shrugged, "Probably, I haven't seen them in four years. It's about time to pay a visit."

"Will they approve of, you know, us?" My voice came out in a squeak.

"Of course they will." He answered, "Karolina is dating a Guardian as we speak. They don't care about that sort of thing at home."

"Then, I guess I'm going to have to go with you." I answered, and I only realized the words that I said, after I'd said them. A surge of sudden confidence grew in my chest.

Dimitri saw this, and smiled, "I'm so glad."

He didn't release me.

I pulled slightly, he still didn't move.

"Um… do you want me to pass my trails, or is there something more… important on your mind right now?" I asked.

He laughed, releasing me, "Maybe later. I need to go now, you slept through an hour of practice, and now we've wasted the few minutes we had left."

"Where are you going?"

"It's my shift." He answered. Oh, of course. He was in fact a Guardian, and they came first. A ball knotted itself in my stomach, and then dropped to the pit of it. They would always come first. And without warning, I began to silently cry, Dimitri's arms encircled me instantly, "Rose, what's wrong?"

I only shook my head, and moved towards the bed, Dimitri moved with me, and we sat down, I sobbed into his chest for God knows how long. He brushed a strand of my hair back, and kissed my forehead.

"T-t-they… c-c-come… f-f-first…" I managed to get out between sobs, "T-t-they w-w-will a-a-always c-come f-f-first."

I knew he understood. He always did.

"Shh…" He whispered, rocking me against him, "Shh…"

As my tears dried up, I looked up at him, "I can't keep doing this, Dimitri. I can't keep pretending that I care most about all Moroi—I care a lot about Lissa. But…"

"But what?" He asked when I was too afraid to continue.

"But, if you both where tied to a train track—or whatever, a death threat situation, and I could only save one of you, it would be you."

He was silent for a minute, "This is hopeless."

I was surprised, "What is?"

"Us. Trying to be Guardians. Its bad enough that I feel the same way—about whoever I get assigned to." He shook his head, "But it's worse for you to feel like that. This isn't right."

"Nobody ever said it was." I shrugged, "All I know is that I love you, and I'm not afraid."

He sighed, "I love you, Roza. I'll always be here for you. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Whatever _does_ happen."

"I know." Sighing, I turned towards the window, pulling him down next to me, "I can't be first in your heart, though. Just like you can't be first in mine."

The words honestly killed a part of me to say them—but I did anyway. It was the plain hard truth. The plain hard truth that would inevitably end up killing both of us, this I was certain about. Being without Dimitri for any length of time would kill me. And I knew that if he was without me, it would kill him. Not for awhile, because we where strong, but, one day, I knew it would.

Tears where streaming down his face,

"No," He whispered, his arms where already wrapped around me, but they held me tightly against him still, "That isn't possible. I love you, Roza. More then anything,"

"You can't," I whispered, tears sprung in my eyes, "You can't love me."

"I know. But I do anyway," He sighed, "We're leaving. I'm kidnapping you, before Graduation, the day after your trails, so if this doesn't work out, you can still be a Guardian. We're not waiting for the day after Graduation to go to Russia—we're going this Tuesday. We need to get away from this for awhile. We need to figure out what to do."

I only nodded, "OK,"

"I need to make reservations, and I'm about half an hour late for my shift." He winced, "You should go tell Lissa our plans. Perhaps say goodbye to the Academy?"

I nodded silently. "I will."

He stood up and kissed my forehead, "I love you, forever, Roza."

I wrapped my arms around his waist in a hug,

"Dimitri…" I whispered, "I love you."

He kissed my forehead again before leaving. I sensed that Lissa was with Adrian, practising Spirit, with Christian supervising. I decided to land the bombshell on both of them at once. Sighing, I threw on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, and made my way towards the Guest Housing.

"Little Dhampir!" Adrian said, flinging the door open, as usual, a glass of wine was in his hand, "I'm so glad you came!"

I smiled wryly at him, "Good to see you too, Adrian."

I pushed past him, and into the room. Christian was sat on the couch, watching a football game on TV. A glass of wine was also in his hand—I knew Christian wasn't an alcoholic, but it surprised me all the same. He nodded over at me, smiling,

"Hey Rose,"

I smiled back, "Heya,"

If you'd shown me and Christian together when we first came back, this scene wouldn't be able to play out, we would be yelling at each other. But through being held captive, and Mason—we'd become a lot closer, he was my partner in crime, and my brother.

"Rose!" Lissa hugged me, "What brings you here? You find this as boring as Christian."

"I just came to talk and hang out." I shrugged, "After all, I'm leaving on Tuesday, so I thought it would be best for us to spend some time together before I left."

"Wait, Rose, Graduation is next Friday, you won't leave until then." Lissa said, "Are you?"

I shrugged, "I'm going to pass on Monday anyway, so I'll have the choice to be a Guardian. If I decide too."

That last sentence was greeted with stony silence.

"You might not be a Guardian?" Adrian asked, "Why? Does Belikov have anything to do with it?" Scorn dripped off his tone.

I stood my ground, "In fact, Adrian, Dimitri does have everything to do with it."

"You and Belikov?" Christian asked, shaking his head, "Why do I never hear about these things?"

"Rose, please explain this to me," Lissa said, "Why wouldn't you want to be a Guardian?"

"I love Dimitri. More then anything on the face of the earth, I don't think I could fathom the idea of putting my life in jeopardy at his risk. If I die, he has nothing but a ghost of himself. If he dies, I have nothing but the ghost of my former self. We need to work out how to get around this." I shrugged, "We're going to visit his family in Baia."

"I thought you two where going to have a long distance relationship." Lissa protested. She thought it was unfair, this angered me, but I decided to try and make her understand.

"It isn't enough. Without him beside me, I won't be able to survive. We need to be together."

Anger was filling Lissa too, "Why can't you both be my Guardians?! Then you two will be together, and bam! You can be Guardians."

"If he was your Guardian, and we where attacked by Strigoi, he would throw himself in front of me, not in front of you, as duty says he should." I sighed, "Its for your protection, Lissa."

Her jade eyes met mine, "I want you to stay here, with me, your best friend. Dimitri doesn't matter. Does he?"

Suddenly, her reasoning made sense. Dimitri was way less important then she was, right? I mean, she was the Moroi, I was the Dhampir. That was how it had been for a century, that's how it was supposed to be. Then, my inner voice fought through, telling me that was wrong and twisted. I broke her gaze.

"Don't use compulsion on me." I said, harshly, "Dimitri and I need to figure this out. When we come back," I'd almost said if, but I think she knew that, "I'll probably take my place as your Guardian."

"Rose—"

"Lissa, Dimitri and I need to do this, together." I said, turning and walking straight out again, leaving her there, crying.

Turning my back on her I felt a piece of my soul die. Her and Dimitri, they mattered most. I had thought for so long about having both of them. So much for my happy ending, I fought against getting sucked into her head, as I ran down the hallways, tears clouding my vision for the second time that hour.

It was a good half an hour later before Adrian found me. I was sitting on a bench. Crying silently, wishing that everything could be perfect. But it wasn't, that was life, life is never perfect. I should have learned that by now. Two people I loved most and the choice that would untimely separate me from one of them.

"Little Dhampir?"

I only nodded, "Yeah."

He sat by me, taking my hands in his own, "You don't have to do this."

"Of course, I do." I objected, pulling away from him.

"Rose, why? It's always about him, never about one of us, Always about Dimitri. If you gave us the chance, we could make you happy. I could make you happy. I know I could. And I've seen you when you help Christian teach the little kid, what's her name? Jen, right, she loves you. You would make a wonderful Mother. I know you would. I know you want it too."

"So?" I asked, looking away. Dimitri wanted children too, we both did. I could never give him what he desired, and he could never give me what I desired. We where trapped.

"So, I could give you that. I could give you children. You need to be with Lissa, let him go," He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, "Look, I'm not just saying this. Ever since I met you, I've been insanely, madly in love with you. But you never gave me the chance. It was always about him. Marry me, Rose, I'll make you happy."

"Lord Ivashkov," A Russian Accent spoke up from behind us, "I suggest you leave Rose alone. If she wants to marry you, she'll figure it out. Stop pressuring her, and before I beat the shit out of your sorry, pathetic little ass, I'd also suggest you go back to your suite."

I turned; Dimitri was standing about three feet behind the bench. His arms where crossed, and he had his Guardian Mask on. I could see the pain behind his eyes, and realized he'd heard all of the last speech. Oh no. Adrian nodded,

"Of course, Guardian Belikov,"

He stood up and walked away. I was silent, Dimitri came around and joined me on the bench, we where silent for a moment, before Dimitri spoke,

"He's right,"

"No, he isn't." I automatically said. Though, truth be told, Adrian was partly right. I wasn't going to leave Dimitri, but he was right. I had always wanted children, ever since I was little.

"He can give you what I can't. The Queen would be upset about you being with him, but Adrian makes his own choices, she would come around. You two could have children, you could be with Lissa. He's a Royal; he has money, lots of it. He could give you anything you desired."

"That's not true, I don't want children." I lied.

"Stop lying, Roza," He sighed, looking at me.

"So? If we really want children, we'll adopt." I said.

"Yeah, explaining the whole 'Vampire' thing to a Human would be smart." He said, looking away from me again, "They would be an outcast."

"Dimitri, look at me." He didn't move, so I grabbed his face in my hands, and turned his head fiercely to look into my eyes.

"Don't you ever even _dare_ to think that Adrian Ivashkov would be better for me then you, Dimitri Belikov. Adrian could never make me as happy as you do. I love you, my heart belongs to you. Do what you want with it. It will always belong to you, until the day I die, and beyond." I said fiercely, "We'll make it through. We don't have a choice. We need to be together."

He sighed, leaning his forehead against mine, it was dark, so nobody as far as five feet away would see us, and so far, the path was silent. His lips found mine, and he kissed me. And I decided right then, that nothing was better then a French kiss from Dimitri. Finally, after a minute, he pulled away, and kissed me again. Then, he wrapped his arms around me, and kissed my head.

"I'm always going to be here, Roza." He finally whispered. His voice cracking, I knew he was crying too.

"We belong together." I repeated, earnestly, believing it with every inch of my soul, "Forever."

He stared down at me, for a long time, before he finally nodded, planting a kiss in the center of my forehead.

"I know." He agreed, "Forever."


	3. Tears Run Down My Face

**.A.N: Hi, Guys!**

**I am so sorry I didn't get this up yesterday! I wrote part of it, and then lost it, and I got really angry and wasn't up to writing it! **Dazzle Me** and **Peace Above All Earthly Dignities** updates will be up soon! Either today or tomorrow! I'm so sorry for the delay! **

**Thanks for all the reviews, guys, also, thanks to everyone who added me to their favourite Story/Author lists, and thank you to everyone who added **Until the Last Rose Dies: Special Edition**/**Me** to Story/Author Alerts! **

_**234 visitors, 397 hits, and only 14 reviews? Come on, you guys can do better then that :-)**_

**Take care,**

**RozaRedbird **

Chapter 3:

Tears Run Down My Face

I sat in my room, trying to focus on _Guardian Techniques_ by Arthur Schoenberg, the guy whose corpse Dimitri and I had found when I went for that test last December. Yeah, he'd been killed by Strigoi, but the dude had been one of the best Guardians in the world. Like… well, I guess, my Mother. I hoped her end wouldn't be as… gruesome as Guardian Schoenberg's had been. But I was also slightly comforted by the fact that she would be glad to die that way, if it meant protecting Moroi. I winced, I would be willing too, but I wasn't ready to die yet. It was that same feeling I'd gotten the night of the Strigoi Attack, when that Strigoi had attacked me, before Christian had set him on fire. Life was to full, there was too much to live for, and despite my current life problems, that didn't mean I wanted to pitch myself out of a tree. I wanted to keep living, keep breathing.

My mind shifted to the night of the Strigoi attack, my body recoiled at the pain that Dimitri's loss would have brought me. I knew what I would have done; I would have reminded myself to get up each morning, remind myself to breath in, and breathe out. And I would have eventually gone off to find him. I expected that somehow I would have found him. And killed him, whatever it took. After that, I would have focused completely on being a Guardian, trying to numb the pain to a point where it would be bearable.

Thank God that wasn't what had happened. I smiled vaguely, pushing the book to the side, I stared off into space, remembering that desperate moment, that I thought I wouldn't be able to break away from Stan. That horrible moment, where I thought Dimitri was dead. I had always pushed the memory away in the past, thankful that Dimitri was alive today, but now I knew I had to remember it fully. Now, or later, it didn't matter which.

_He grabbed Dimitri and pulled him to the ground. They grappled strength against strength and then I saw those fangs sink into Dimitri's neck. The red eyes flicked up and made contact with my own._

_I heard another scream-- this time it was my own._

_My mother started to double back toward the fallen, but then five more Strigoi appeared. It was chaos. I couldn't see Dimitri anymore; I couldn't see what had happened to him. _

_Indecision flashed all over my mother's features as she tried to decide whether to flee or fight, and then regret all over her face, she kept running towards us and the exit. Meanwhile I was trying to run back inside, but someone was stopping me, it was Stan._

_"What are you doing Rose? More are coming."_

_I struggled against his hold. Questions swarmed into my mind, what if Dimitri was already dead?! I tugged against Stan's hold, as if in slow motion, I saw my Mother make her way towards us. I knew what she was going to do; she would help Stan pull me away. I couldn't allow that. Suddenly, I sagged in Stan's firm grip. I looked up at him, hoping that this once I could get him to see sense._

"_Dimitri is in there." I spoke calmly, despite my hysterical feelings, "We can't leave him. He's only twenty four, and has so much promise. So many Moroi could live if we save him."_

_Stan let me go. I didn't run immediately, but I knew Dimitri's Life Clock was ticking; he could be dying as we spoke, or worse, being turned. But why the Blonde Strigoi would do that, I didn't know. My Mother had already heard my words, just as she turned her eyes to Stan, and began to speak, I took my chance, and nobody was looking at me. I ran forward, into the cave. _

_My name was shouted behind me. But I didn't care; I killed two Strigoi before I was able to make it into the middle of the cave, where Dimitri laid, a goofy smile across his face, as the Blonde Strigoi drank. I attacked, using the same stance I'd used on Dimitri when we had first met. But unlike when Dimitri had brushed me away, like I was a fly, this Strigoi wasn't trained, and hadn't expected it. _

"_Rose Hathaway," He purred, turning away from Dimitri, which had been the goal here, Dimitri still seemed unaware of what was going on around him, "I'm afraid I didn't get the chance to properly introduce myself to you. My name is Nathan, I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance, for I hear that you are Shadow Kissed, and bound to the last Dragomir. It's too bad though, because when I awaken you, all your Shadow Kissed abilities will go away,"_

_I lunged forward, throwing a kick in his gut, apparently, making long speeches was a common thing among Strigoi. Since they thought they where practically Gods. To my amazement, he fell backwards, Dimitri was trying to sit up, the bliss leaving his body, I noticed, as an icy fear gripped him. _

_I then gave, and received a few vicious hits. The other Strigoi where being taken out by the Guardians which had followed my pursuit back into the caves, as I watched, Nathan seemed realize this too, we where stronger then he thought we where. Ha, like he thought we'd retreat. _

"_Awaken my ass!" I snapped, lunging forward, with my stake, and this time, plunging it into his stomach, he kissed, and fell backwards. I landed on top of him, holding him down; I positioned my stake right above his heart, "Any last words to say?"_

"_Fuck you!"_

_I shrugged; trying to look amused, "Not what I would have chosen, but everyone is different,"_

_I shoved the stake into his heart, as quickly and swiftly as I possibly could. He shrieked and withered beneth me for a few seconds, before his body was finally still. There where only about ten Strigoi, and by now, Dimitri was standing up, leaning against Stan, excruciating pain was apparent in his face, and I noticed a deep cut across the top of his nose. Nathan had done worse to him then I'd thought, good thing the bastard was dead. _

_We made our retreat then. It had taken less then fifteen minutes. Darkness spread around us. I went over to help Stan support Dimitri; he was almost unconscious by this point. _

"_Come on, Dimitri," I whispered urgently, "Don't blank out yet. We need to get back, hold on,"_

_He nodded slightly at my request. And I nuzzled my face into his shoulder, the one that didn't appear to be dislocated. He would be OK, no matter what, that, I knew for sure, Dimitri was going to be OK. _

A knock on the door made me jump out of the agonizing memory. I stood up from my bed, taking care to step around the book—it had been Dimitri's, and it was signed too. He'd given it to me for my birthday, a week after the Attack—once we had arrived back at school, they'd taken him to the Infirmary, and Lissa had partly healed him, enough so that he wouldn't blank out into a Coma, they reset his shoulder, and she healed that too. Luckily, he hadn't broken anything. He only needed stitches and rest. Lots and lots of rest.

When I opened the door, I expected to see Christian or Adrian again, trying to make me stay, for Lissa's sake. But through the bond, I knew it wouldn't be Lissa, she was feeling annoyed, and upset, because she was fighting with me, and annoyed, because as much as he loved her, Christian agreed with me. He knew what it was like to not quite understand something, and the desire to figure it out completely.

But when I opened the door, I was surprised to see Eddie standing there. I hadn't seen him in awhile; it was then that I realized how much I'd missed him. A wide smile crossed my face.

"Hey, I missed you."

"I did too. I remembered that I haven't seen you at any meals in two days, are you becoming anorexic or something?" He shifted his feet, "Plus, trails are tomorrow, and I thought you might be able to enlighten me with ways to pass it."

I laughed. "I don't know if I'm allowed to give out that kind of information, but come on in anyway."

He came in and sat on my desk chair, I sat on the bed, several awkward moments of silence followed. I shifted uncomfortable,

"So…"

"So, what's up? I haven't seen you in the Dinning Hall, or anywhere in two days, is something wrong?"

I was about to say no. When I wondered to myself, Eddie had known me my entire life. Why shouldn't I confide in him what the problem was? I mean, he might be able to help me figure out what the shit was wrong with Lissa. Or maybe give me advice that would cause me to run to Dimitri, with an amazing revelation.

"Yeah," I said, sighing, "Something is wrong."

"What? You're pregnant?" He asked, playfully. I smiled before I shook my head.

"Hell no, I'm not pregnant. But… it's just that… me and Lissa had a fight,"

"Where you in bikinis?"

I slapped his shoulder, "Hey! Be serious."

He sobered up, "OK, OK, I'm listening. What happened? I can't remember a time you guys fought. It must have been bad. What was it about?"

"I'm leaving here the day after Trails, with Guardian Belikov." I admitted, "I mean, after Trails, there's nothing to do. Graduation is Friday, but I'm not required to attend that."

"But why?"

Here's where I land the bombshell, "I love him."

It appeared that Eddie was choking, "What? Is it some crush you have on a teacher? Rose, that's just—"

"No," I interrupted, "He loves me. We've been in love ever since me and Lissa came back after we'd run away. It wasn't an attack charm that Victor put in the necklace… it… it was a Lust charm."

"So you slept with him."

"Not that night, he figured out the charm, and I realized that Lissa had been kidnapped. I told him everything, and we went downstairs, and told everyone else, and we went out, and found Lissa." I sighed, "A few days later, he told me that he didn't love me back. But, when I asked Victor to lift the charm, he told me that it burned itself out. And I claimed that it didn't, and that he doesn't love me anyway, so what was the point, but Victor said that the feelings had to be in both of us, for the charm to have worked."

"Wait, what do you mean, not that night?" Eddie asked,

"I mean, I have slept with him. But I didn't sleep with him that night. Anyway, that was when Natalie showed up—she'd turned Strigoi, You know that story, about how Dimitri 'saved' me." He nodded, and I continued, "When he took me to the Infirmary, I asked him why he lied,"

And so the entire story of me and Dimitri came out, and as I spoke, I realized all the resentment I'd felt against Lissa was unjust, and when I finished, I was thinking that I should go tell Dimitri that I couldn't go with him. Lissa needed me. Dimitri was strong; he had lived without me for a long time. Awhile longer wouldn't kill him.

"Wow. I've seen you two together, and I never noticed…" Eddie shook his head, "Damn I'm stupid."

"Yeah, but… now that I think about it, I really should just stay with Lissa, I mean, it's really pathetic, isn't it? Why did I even think that we'd be able to be together? It doesn't work like that…"

Eddie nodded, "No, it doesn't. But, its clear to me that you would die for him, that you would die without him. You wouldn't cry if he left. You would die if he left. You love Lissa, but Dimitri is your life. You need him to survive."

"So?"

"So go with him. Maybe you'll figure out that you where wrong, that's normal," he sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, "But don't push him away. Go with him. Fuck, go tell Kirova that you won't be there for Graduation. Tie yourself to this commitment as much as you possibly can. Hell, go ask the Priest to marry you guys, if that will keep you going with him. I don't give a shit. But whatever you do, don't push him away. You've done that all your life. He loves you, and you love him. You already tried to let him ago with Mason, but that didn't work. You two obviously belong together."

I sighed, and spoke the words, which I didn't exactly believe. "You're right."

I mean, yeah. I wanted to be with Dimitri. But, honestly, if we where meant to be, why was everything so hard, why wasn't it perfect and flowery? But I knew Eddie was right. I had to figure out the answer to that question. I wouldn't ever be at peace, until I did.

Eddie stood up, and kissed my forehead, "Keep in touch,"

"I will."

I knocked on the door to Kirova's office. Yeah it was a Sunday. But yeah, she also never quit working. She opened it, surprised to see me at her door, when I wasn't forced to be there.

"Miss. Hathaway, come in."

I walked in, surprised to see my Mother, and Alberta sitting there. "Um, hi."

Mom stood up, "Rose, why are you here?"

"I needed to tell Ms. Kirova that I will not be attending Graduation." I said, "Guardian Belikov received a letter from an old Mentor of his, and wishes to take me away to Russia for the next month, so I may learn even more, skills."

Alberta stood up, "You're already graduating at the top of your class Rose, what else could you learn?"

"Plenty,"

"Would Guardian Belikov be able to elaborate on this trip?" My Mother asked Kirova, "Has he mentioned it to you?"

"No, I don't believe he has." She said, "No matter, I'll just radio down, and ask him to come up."

My heart started beating faster. My Mother, Alberta, Me, Kirova and Dimitri all in the same room, that could never lead to positive results. That, I was completely and utterly sure of, Kirova placed a call in, asking for Dimitri to come to her office, as we waited, I tried to make polite conversation, better leave on good terms with these people after all. I probably wouldn't see Kirova or Alberta again.

"So… if you don't mind me asking, what did I interrupt here?" I asked, mainly because I was curious, screw the thing I said earlier about leaving on good terms.

"Oh, your Mother didn't tell you?" Kirova asked, "Alberta has been wishing to step down from Captain of the Guardians here, and your Mother graciously volunteered to take her place,"

"Wow." I said, smiling at my Mother, "That's… cool."

They didn't have a chance to respond, because then Dimitri knocked on the door, and entered. He looked slightly green when he saw the ensemble waiting for him. He turned to Kirova, trying to pull his Guardian mask into place, and failing entirely.

"You wanted to see me, Headmistress?" He asked, calmly.

"Yes, please take a seat beside Miss. Hathaway,"

He nodded, and took a seat beside me, our eyes met, his read, _what have you gotten us into, Roza?_ But his lips stayed silent. He looked up at Kirova, waiting. She straightened in her chair.

"Miss. Hathaway has come to inform us that you wish to take her on an educational journey to learn under the instruction of one of your instructors."

He gave her one curt nod, the Guardian Mask was now completely in place. His face gave nothing away. "I do, Headmistress."

"Is Miss. Hathaway willing?"

"She is."

"And how long do you expect to be gone?"

"We will return the week before she is due to return to start guarding her charge."

Their discussion continued. It really seemed ironic to me, how I was sitting right next to Dimitri, how hard it was for me not to touch him. I mean, normally when I was with Dimitri, even if we did have to hide something, it was easy enough for me to do that. But no, today, out of all the days, I had to need him. It didn't seem fair. I was gripping the side of the chair so hard that I thought my fingers would dig into it.

"Miss. Hathaway, are you quite alright?" Kirova asked suddenly, and all eyes in the room turned to me, I released the chair, and straightened up,

"Yes, thank you."

She nodded, and the discussion continued, I was asked the occasional question, but other then that, I was free to battle the overwhelming desire. After what seemed like years, Kirova agreed that Dimitri's idea of an educational trip was an excellent one. Dimitri and I where dismissed.

We walked down the hallway, and Dimitri pulled me into a corner. I looked up at him, we where close together, our bodies pressed together.

"Could you warn me next time? When I walked in, I nearly had a heart attack."

I shrugged, "Sorry. I wasn't trying to kill you. I just needed to bind myself to this in everyway possible."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that I'm worried. If we're meant to be together, why is everything so hard? I mean, Lissa and Christian aren't forbidden from being together."

"Its called being Star Crossed," he said simply, "It sounds mushy, but it's the term for our situation."

"Of course, Romeo," I said, rolling my eyes.

He did a surprising thing then, he wrapped a hand around my neck, the other around my waist, and kissed me, we stood there for at least ten minutes, kissing, until somebody cleared their throat.

Terror erupted through me. Dimitri stiffened. We broke away silently, and stared into the eyes of, nonetheless, my Mother.

Oh, shit.


	4. I Can't Replace

**.A.N: Hey Guys!**

**Thanks so much for the reviews, and adding me to whatever you added me too! I owe you guys! I love you all!**

**Just one thing: I've taken down the original version of **Until the Last Rose Dies**, along with **The Reason**, and **Someday we'll Know**. But don't worry, our beloved Hedeon and Eliza will exist. The story will be slightly different (like this one) and Eliza's name will remain the same throughout all of it. Sveta won't exist, though. Anya might, I haven't decided yet. **

**Don't worry guys. I've got this one planned out, and I fully intend to write a sequel when I'm done with it, and then, possibly a third one. Depends on what I do with **The Reason**. **

**But, in the main version of Someday We'll Know, for people who were wondering what was going to happen, it was going to have a happy ending. **

**Take Care, and please review!**

**RozaRedbird **

Until the Last Rose Dies: Special Edition  
Chapter 4: I Can't Replace

She looked upset, but not angry. Dimitri pointedly took a step away from me, and nodded curtly to my Mother, trying to pretend that nothing had happened, and like before, when he was trying to put on his Guardian Mask—failing entirely.

"Guardian Hathaway,"

She nodded vaguely to him, "Guardian Belikov,"

I felt like I should nod to one of them too. But I stayed silent. I didn't want to deal with this. Not yet. She was surprisingly calm now. Dimitri nodded to her, and walked away, past her. I waited, thinking that she was going to grab him, and cart us both back to Kirova's office. But she let him go. She looked at me, I tried to bring all my love for Dimitri into my eyes, and apparently, something clicked. She smiled, not in a mean way, but in a way, when a Mother realizes that her child is unbearably happy. After a moment, she spoke.

"I don't know very much about you, do I? Why don't we take a walk? We have a lot to learn about each other."

This surprised me, "Don't you have a meeting to go to?"

"No. And if I did, I'd skip it. I want to spend time with you."

I waited for her to start laughing, and claim it was a joke, but nothing happened. Slowly, I nodded.

"OK," I said wondering if I'd died or something.

This wasn't real. My Mother had just caught me making out with my Mentor, my twenty four year old Mentor. My twenty four year old Mentor who would be twenty five next month, and she hadn't carted both of us back off to Kirova. What was wrong with the world? Dimitri was probably worrying his ass off now. I'd have to find him later, and tell him, that surprisingly, my Mother was totally cool with it. He'd probably wonder what she was on.

We started towards the quad, neither of us said anything. I had the sneaking suspicion that she was actually horrified, and was leading me off to my exaction. We sat down on a bench, though I knew that my Mother could have spent the rest of her life standing, if she needed too.

"So…" I stared, staring at the looming castle like building in front of us, not looking at her, it was too awkward. Moms weren't supposed to find out about their daughter's love lives by catching them. It wasn't right. The daughter was supposed to tell the Mother. Of course, I hadn't planned on doing that; I wasn't suicidal, but still…

"I should have realized," My Mother answered, shaking her head, "You where so desperate to save him… I should have realized that it was more then just a Student-Teacher relationship."

"I guess its good though, for us, that we have enough of a cover up and a cover story that's believable."

"Some people already know," She said, matter-of-factly.

I stared at her, shocked, as far as I knew, only Lissa, Adrian, and Christian knew. None of them would go to Alberta, or Kirova. "What?"

"Some people already know. Actually, one person does. I thought I was

"And why didn't you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from sounding snappish.

"I wanted to talk to you. Alberta had already told me that you and Guardian Belikov where together. To be honest, I wasn't pleased about it, considering how vastly he is your senior, but, she explained that when she had confronted Guardian Belikov about it, he had explained that you both had no intentions of allowing your relationship to be known to the Student Body—"

"Wait, just rewind a second, Dimitri _told_ Alberta?" I said, shocked. Why hadn't Dimitri told me that? I never kept anything from him. Not anymore.

"Yes. It was a few months ago, before the Strigoi attack. Just after you both got back from the Ski Lodge." She shrugged, but I was angry. He would have a lot to answer when I found him again, "Anyway, as I was saying. He had no intentions of having your relationship with him known to the Student Body. He's kept to that as well."

"Mom, you caught us kissing in the hallway." I pointed out, "How is that keeping it from the Student Body?"

"It was the Administrative building. Ms. Kirova had her apartment's right above her office, and he probably expected Alberta and I to go the other way to get to the Guardian Buildings. Nobody else would be in the building today."

"Oh. Right. Of course. Why did you not go to the Guardian Building? Don't take it the wrong way—I like talking to you, but why?"

"I wanted to talk to you, both about Guardian Belikov, and your Father."

That was random. "My Father? What does he have to do with anything?"

"When you where born, we decided with his… profession at the time, that it would be best for him to not be around you. You two are so much alike, it hurts to look at you. I'm still in contact with him though. He thinks that you're finally old enough to meet."

"What did he do?" I asked, surprised,

"He worked with… illegal affairs, but I doubt he still does though. He's forty four now." She shrugged, "I preferred to call him Ibrahim, but if you ask Guardian Belikov, he'll probably know your Father better as Abe Muzar, if you decide to ask,"

"Dimitri would know my Father?" I asked dumbly, "He's that famous?"

"Rose, Guardian Belikov and your Father have met." She said.

"What? When? Why didn't he tell me?"

"Guardian Belikov's family where great friends of your Father and after Guardian Belikov finally got rid of Lawrence Voda—Lord Voda is Guardian Belikov's Father—Abe came in very helpful for his family."

"Dimitri's half Royal?" I wasn't surprised, but I wondered why he'd never told me. Illegitimate half-Royals didn't have very much power in the main ruling system, but that did give them a slightly higher place then Illegitimate Dhampir's who weren't half royal. After all, legitimate or not, they did have royal blood, and that had to be respected.

"Yes. I'm not surprised he never mentioned it. He doesn't like his Father; I assume he's told you about that."

"Yes."

She nodded. "I'm going to have to go in a minute. So, will you meet your Father while you're in Russia with Guardian Belikov? I assume it isn't an educational trip."

I blushed, "No. It isn't."

"So will you?" She prompted.

"I guess so. We're staying with his family, anyway."

"Then you'll meet him by default, then." She said, and then glanced at her watch, and jumped up, "I'm so sorry, Rose, I'm already five minutes late."

I smiled, "That's OK, Mom, and it means a lot that you found the time to talk to me. It's nice, not keeping secrets from you."

She hugged me, "I'm always willing to listen. Absent or not, I'm still your Mother, and I will always love you."

"I love you too, Mom." My voice was thick with emotion.

She let me go, and left. I felt like we'd just taken a really big leap. Huh, that was a good thing. I started towards the Staff Dorms, assuming that Dimitri was in his room, ready to ambush him. I shook my head at myself, surprised at how sure I was that I hated my Mother, less then a year ago.

Normally, students weren't allowed into the Staff Dorms, but since Dimitri was my Mentor, it would be easy enough to make up some random excuse about practicing for tomorrow. Walking down the hallways, I walked up to the fifth floor, and then to Dimitri's door, I knocked, and waited, and waited, and waited. Dimitri didn't come to the door, I knocked again,

"Dimitri?"

No answer.

I pressed my ear to the door, to see if I could hear anything. Nothing. He wouldn't ignore me. I knew that well enough.

"Dimitri?" I said knocking again.

Again, no answer, I leaned against the wall, and noticed that Guardian Tanner was walking towards me. We got along well enough, but we barely ever had any reason to talk to each other. He smiled as he approached, and I returned it.

"What are you waiting here for?"

"I wanted to see if Guardian Belikov was free for practice."

"Well, you won't find him in there. The last time I saw him, which was about seven minutes ago, he was in the Guardian Lounge."

"Oh. I'm not sure where that is in the building. Could you show me?"

"Sure. I'm on my break."

"Thanks."

We walked out of the Dorm, and back into the night air. It made me sad that I rarely got to see the sun. But, I always had liked the night. It left me, covered, I guess. Protected. Guardian Tanner didn't talk while we walked, but it wasn't awkward, we didn't know each other well enough for it to be awkward. But as we entered the building, he spoke,

"We're going to miss having Belikov around; he's a really skilled Guardian. Taking on Strigoi before any of us even knew about the attack," He shook his head in disbelief, "I would have been dead before you'd even gotten to the heart of campus. Why where you two out by the Guest Cabins anyway?"

"I'd been in a fight, and he didn't want me near the attacked person, so he took me out there, since he knew there would be a first aid kit there."

"Getting in fights, Rose," he tutted, as we arrived at our designated floor, "But, who am I to talk? I started plenty of them in school."

"Wow."

I caught sight of a sign on a door, about five feet ahead that said, "Guardian Lounge" announcing that we had arrived.

"Wait out here; I'll go see if Belikov is there." Guardian Tanner said, before disappearing into the room.

I waited outside, shifting my feet awkwardly from one foot to the next. How was I going to bring up what I'd learned? Easily, I guess. It didn't really matter that he was half royal anyway, plenty of Guardians were, and he wouldn't have thought that was important enough to tell me. But why hadn't he told me that he'd told Alberta about us? At least she didn't know about the cabin—or, at least, I hope she didn't.

The door opened, and Dimitri along with Guardian Tanner appeared, Guardian Tanner nodded to both of us, before going back the way we'd come.

Dimitri closed the door soundlessly behind him.

"Why are you here?" He asked quietly. I could tell in his eyes that he was glad that I was there, but should anyone decide to come around the corner just then, he didn't want to take any chances.

"I need to talk to you." I answered, "Let's go to the caves, come on."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do the caves have to do with anything?"

"Please come with me." I begged, "Please?"

He sighed, looking around, "All right."

"Thank you."

We walked back, through the grounds, and went through a break in the fence, that marked the Academy's boundaries, we walked through. I knew Dimitri would have a silver stake with him, but unless stakes where connected directly with the wards, having one pass through, when there was something in-between them, wouldn't do any harm.

Once in the woods, we started at a run to the caves, it was five miles away. No problem. We ran for awhile, about two miles, and then slowed down to a walk, or rather _I'd_ run for two miles, and slowed down to a walk. I didn't know how far Dimitri could run, but it was definitely more then two miles, and that was without adrenaline going through his veins. We exchanged a few comments, but nothing major, I decided to wait until we got to the caves.

They came into view, and we speed up, wanting to get to them quicker. We stood in the mouth of one, not the same one that the final part of the battle had happened in, but the cave was dark and looming all the same. I was glad to have Dimitri with me then. The only light we had was the light of the moon, reflecting against the caves, making them seem even bigger then I knew they where.

"Roza?" I heard Dimitri's voice, "Why… why did you want to come here?"

Without warning, I spun around and slapped him. His hand flew to his cheek, and he looked at me, shocked. There. He deserved that.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked.

"You told Alberta about us."

"Yes."

"And you didn't tell me!?"

"Roza…" He sighed, "I didn't think it was important enough. If she'd thought it was… dangerous, then I would have told you. But she already had guessed most of it, and I didn't see a point in lying."

"How much does she know?" I spat.

"She hasn't asked me about it since January, and no, before you ask, she doesn't know about the lust charm. Hell, she doesn't even know that I've ever kissed you." He walked forward, "Chill, Roza, you know I wouldn't do anything that would put either of us in danger."

"I share everything with you." My voice was a hiss now, "And you didn't tell me that little tiny detail?"

"I'm sorry. I should have told you." He sounded truly sincere, "I'm sorry. Please don't be angry with me."

Looking into his brown eyes, I felt my anger disappear; I reached up and kissed him in the darkness. His lips met mine with an amazing force that nearly knocked me over. It took me a few minutes, before I realized that it actually _had_ knocked me over, Dimitri loomed over me, his hair falling around his face, almost glowing in the moonlight. I felt that I was lying on a stick. But I didn't care. Slowly, he caressed my cheek with one finger. It took me a minute to figure out what I meant to say.

"You will tell me next time." I said, "You won't keep anything from me."

"Yes."

"Good. I want to know everything."

He rolled off me, rolling into direct moonlight; his clothes would be extremely dusty by the time we got back to the school. I reached over and unbuttoned all the buttons on his shirt, leaving his sculpted abs bare, a breeze fell over us then, and he shivered as it touched his exposed skin. He was beautiful.

"What?" He breathed.

"I want to know everything about you."

"I don't see anything wrong with that, what to you want to know?"

"When where you born?"

"You know that." He looked at me, smiling.

"I want you to tell me."

"July 12th."

"What Academy did you go too?" I knew he'd gone to one in Russia. I didn't know which one.

"St. Baria's, in Siberia."

"Who did you get for your field assignment?"

"A girl in my class. Tatiana Conta, a Royal, naturally."

"Did you go out with her?"

"Why do you care?"

"You didn't answer the question."

He sighed, looking towards the moon, "Yes. She was the first person I ever slept with. I wish it had been you."

"Really?"

"Rose, I've only slept with three woman in my life, Tatiana, a woman called Madeline—and that didn't last for long, trust me—and you. Tatiana was naturally, my first, 'love' if you want to call it that. I mean, I'd hooked up with girls when I was at school, I was a teenage boy, and what do you expect? But I'd never been thrown into a situation where I'd have to be with a girl all the time—other then my sisters or Mother—before, and she was experienced… if I hadn't been with her, I wouldn't have been with Madeline, which means that you would have been the first,"

"I'm guessing I don't have competition, then?"

He laughed, trailing down my neck, to my hip, "If Megan Fox showed up right now, you wouldn't have competition. I belong only and fully to you."

"Don't I look like Megan Fox?" I asked, jokingly.

"No, definitely not, your hair might be roughly the same colour, but your skin is the colour of an almond—that's way to light. You don't look like any celebrity, you're far prettier then any of them."

He kissed me then, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to get in another word. My clothes came off, and his did too, neither of us seemed to care that we where lying in the dirt. Showers where always possible, for both of us. Being in his arms, having his voice whisper in my ear things so horrendously wonderful, that I'd only been able to imagine them, looking in his eyes, and seeing without a doubt that I was his salvation, the same way he was mine. His body moved within me at a beautifully wonderful pace. Causing me to scream out in pleasure, time after time, he yelled my name too, but not nearly as loudly. I'd thought that the first time would be the best. But I was wrong: every time, it got better.

When we where done, hours later, he shifted himself off of me, for the last time that night. We where both breathing heavily, I moved, so I lay across his chest, my long hair only partly covering us, he stroked my face, and kissed me.

"You are so beautiful, it hurts me sometimes." He whispered—the same words he'd said when we where under the lust spell.

"I love you, so much it hurts."

He kissed me, and then sat up, reaching for his clothes, which I'd thrown around us. I looked at him sadly. He smiled wryly.

"Come on, its nearly five AM, the sun will be up soon, and the others will wonder where we are. Plus, you need to make sure that you get good sleep tonight. After all, you do have one of the most important tests of your life coming up. "

I sighed, but I knew he was right. "Don't worry, Comrade, I could do that test blindfolded, hell, maybe I actually will, do you have anything I can use?"

He shook his head, still smiling, "I swear Rose, sometimes it feels like everyday with you is my own personal trial."

"That's what I'm here for." I said, grabbing my clothes, and dressing, finally, once we where dressed, and had managed to get most of the dirt off our clothes, we started at a run towards campus, this time we didn't slow down, we had been gone for nearly three hours, they would wonder where we were.

We made it to the quad, and before we parted, I asked,

"You know Abe Muzar?"

"Yeah. What about him?"

"My Mother told me that he's my Father. Ibrahim."

Dimitri stared at me in astonishment. "You're Zemy's daughter?"

"What?"

"Zemy," He repeated, "It means 'snake' in Russian. It's his business name. He's kind of a mobster. He's involved in a lot of illegal stuff." Dimitri shook his head in disbelief, "Zemy's daughter," He muttered to himself, "Why didn't I think of that? No wonder you scare me half the time."

I laughed, he grinned at me. "What's my Father like?"

"He's a knee-breaking type. You're lucky. There are worse Father's to have then him."

"Like Lawrence Voda?" I asked, and immediately regretted my words.

He winced, "Exactly like Lawrence Voda."

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bring up anything bad…"

"You didn't. You already know the story behind him. I don't remember telling you my Father's name, though."

"You didn't. My Mother did."

"Ahh, your Mother. How did that go, by the way?"

"She's cool with it. She assumes that you've only kissed me though. I don't intend for her to know the entire truth. Yet."

"That sounds wise."

"Thank you," I reached up onto my tip toes and kissed him, throwing my arms around his neck, not caring in the world who saw us, but nobody was in the quad, and you could barely see out any Moroi windows, so I doubted anyone did. "Goodnight, Dimitri, I love you."

He kissed me back, "I love you too. Sleep well, Roza,"

"I will."


	5. And Now That I'm Strong

**.A.N: Hey Guys!**

**Thank you all so much for your awesome reviews! My email is down (:P) so I can't reply to any of your reviews, but I was able to read them through FanFiction on the reviews page, and they where all awesome. Thank you all, I love you all, my wonderful readers! **

**Hope you enjoy this one, we'll get to meet the Belikov's in the next chapter. **

**Please review! I have a lot of readers, but hardly any reviews!**

**RozaRedbird **

Until the Last Rose Dies

And Now That I'm Strong

I knocked Dimitri down, for the fifth time that day. And despite my obvious skill, I was scared out of my mind. If I failed today, then, being a Guardian, what I'd spent my entire life learning to do—would be out of the question. I sighed, and put the 'stake' down. Dimitri came over to me, looking worried,

"Are you alright, Roza?" He asked, "Don't downplay it, if you're feeling sick."

"Did I hurt you?" I asked, ignoring his question. He smiled wryly. Of course I hadn't hurt him.

"No," he breathed, "You didn't answer the question."

"You don't answer any of mine,"

"Since when do you use quotes from _Twilight_?"

"Since now," I tried to look firm, but as soon as I looked into his chocolate brown eyes I felt my willpower fall to dust, "Since when do you watch it?"

"I've been on duty in the dorms when it's on. I've been forced." He smiled, "Do I dazzle you?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

He laughed, but then his handsome face turned serious, he stepped forward, and placed a hand on my cheek, I leaned into it, breathing in his scent. Sighing.

"What's wrong?" He asked, he didn't bother with asking if anything was wrong, he just asked what was. Dimitri knew me too well.

"I'm so worried. I mean, I might not become a Guardian anyway. But, not passing this test would mean…" My voice cracked, and I stopped, unable to finish. I looked down.

"Rose, Roza," his voice was firm, "Look at me,"

"Seriously, its fine," I tried to brush it away,

"Rose, look at me."

"B—"

"_Look at me_."

I had a weird sensation of Déjà vu—when the same thing had happened, right after my Mother had hit me. I turned my head, and met his eyes. He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close to him, I looked up at him. He sighed,

"Roza, you are going to do beautifully, by the end of the day, you will wear your promise mark. Considering that you have already proven yourself as a superb Guardian, it's a waste of time to make you take them, on everybody's part. You're the best in the group."

His words sent a warm shiver down my spine, giving me confidence. I smiled up at him, and our lips met in a swift kiss. We broke apart, and Dimitri announced that we were almost out of time, so we put the equipment away for the last time. Then, we both ran to the changing rooms to change. I was out first; I looked around, surprised, and saddened, so much had happened in this gym. Everything was turning into the last. Never again would we fight in this gym, run on the track. Tears rolled silently down my cheeks, as I thought of all I was leaving behind.

I heard Dimitri coming up behind me.

"We have a lot of time ahead of us, Roza." He whispered, "Don't worry, the scenery may change, as may the faces, but my love for you, will never change. If it does, it will grow stronger. I love you, Roza, I'll always be here for you, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Those words always managed to comfort me. They where the words he had spoken in the cabin, I nodded, drying my face. The door opened suddenly, causing both me and Dimitri to jump, we hadn't heard footsteps, and I was glad our voices had been low, so nobody would have been able to hear what he had just said.

Dimitri turned slowly, and we both set eyes on Stan, Dimitri gave him a curt, swift nod,

"Guardian Alto,"

Stan returned the nod, "Miss. Hathaway, you're late. People where betting on whether or not you'd show up. You're lucky you weren't one of the first ones. Come on."

"I apologise for that, Guardian Alto that is fully my fault, I kept Rose from where she was supposed to be. Thank you for taking the time to come get her, I'll take her to the arena." Dimitri said, leading me out of the gym, and towards the fields. I slowly felt my breathing move from normal to almost hyperventilating.

I looked around, as we approached. It had always amazed me in past years how much work went into these trials, and I was no less impressed now as I saw it up close. The barrack that novices waited in was constructed out of wood, complete with a roof. The structure looked as though it had been part of the stadium forever. It had been built with remarkable speed and would be taken down equally quickly once the trials were over.

A doorway about three people wide gave a partial glimpse onto the field, where one of my classmates was waiting anxiously for her name to be called. All sorts of obstacles were set up there, challenges to test balance and coordination while still having to battle and elude the adult guardians who would be lurking around objects and corners. Wooden walls had been constructed on one end of the field, creating a dark and confusing maze. Nets and shaky platforms hung across other areas, designed to test just how well we could fight under difficult conditions.

Dimitri came up behind me, again, "Focus, Rose, you're going to do fine. Calm down."

His words where perfectly professional, as I looked around, I heard other Mentors with their students saying the same things, but when I met his eyes, I saw a million meanings in them. It gave me strength, but I still worried. He placed a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at him.

"You will do beautifully. Better then I did, I promise you. Within the hour, you will wear your promise mark, making you even more lethal then you already are."

I nodded, and saw my Mother approaching us. Dimitri didn't stiffen, and pull on the Guardian mask, as I expected him too, in fact, he smiled warmly at her, and she returned it. Shit, what had I missed?

"Are you nervous?"

I nodded, my breathing alternating; those words had completely destroyed the words that Dimitri had just spoken. My Mother laughed,

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. You'll do wonderfully; you are my daughter after all,"

I nodded again, "Thanks for coming."

"Do you think I would miss this? You're about to become a Guardian."

I gulped, and Dimitri quickly came to my rescue, "With all due respect, Guardian Hathaway, I don't think that's the best course of conversation at the moment."

Before she could answer, Alberta's voice rang above us.

"Rosemarie Hathaway!"

Turning to Dimitri, I know he saw the panic in my eyes. But, as I watched, he made a very quick decision. There was nothing they could do about us now. Me, becoming a Guardian was already happening. He moved his head down, closer to mine, his hand still on my shoulder. He pressed his lips to mine quickly, but it was enough to renew the strength I'd felt before.

"I love you. Good luck." He whispered, low enough for only me to hear.

I nodded, and walked out onto the field. Here it was the test that would finally make me a Guardian.

Alberta smiled at me encouragingly, and handed me my 'stake' which I was supposed to 'kill' the 'Strigoi' with. I took in a deep breath, as I looked at the obstacles that lay ahead of me. And, without farther ado, I ventured out onto it.

I came across a high wall, which had a rope hanging from it, climbing up only took me a few seconds, there was a tippy, unstable platform at the top, and before I knew it, a Strigoi had jumped out, and wrestled me to the ground. It was surprising, but not unexpected. I remembered one of Dimitri's first lessons, _Don't Hesitate_.

And I sure as hell didn't.

Just as quickly as he had jumped on me, I reacted; I kicked him with all my strength, and used his distraction of pain to hoist myself over him. After giving and receiving some vicious hits, I managed to place my 'stake' over his heart. Waiting a moment, to make sure he was 'dead', another one of Dimitri's lessons_ Don't Turn Your Back Until You Know Your Enemy is Dead_. I jumped down from the wall, and landed, lying face down on a net. I stood up, struggling for balance as another 'Strigoi' jumped down to the net, landing more gracefully then I had.

We battled, and I used Dimitri's lessons again, this time, it was, _Use Themselves Against Them_. This Guardian was big. Not fat, obviously, considering the amount of time that they spent working out a week, but he was a big guy. I used that against him, I had found my balance quickly on the net, and was able to easily duck around him, as he attempted to hit me, within a few minutes, I was able to duck around, and 'stake' him through the back.

The other tests where easy enough. I had to battle more then one Strigoi at a time, run up steep ramps. Stuff like that, it was worse work then the actual Strigoi Attack had been. Damn, these guys tested you. I was breathless by the time I made it to the end, away from the all the dark corners, and threats. I thought I had done well, but I wasn't entirely sure. There was maybe a beat of silence, before the crowd broke out into vigorous applause. Alberta came towards me, smiling, but I barely noticed her face. In her hands was a silver stake. My silver stake,

"Congratulations, you passed, Guardian Hathaway."

After that, I was whisked off to where we would get our Promise Marks. I saw mine, a Snake-like creature. And felt a little guilty, I might not fulfil my promise. It was a looking more and more like I wasn't going too. I loved Dimitri that was the only permanent fact. Anything else could change, and I wouldn't care. The Strigoi Attack had been the boundary, had I lost him, I would have found him, and killed him, and gotten up every morning, told myself to breathe in and out, and eventually, I wouldn't have had to remind myself. Life would have gone on, and Dimitri would have lived forever in my heart. But, now, that I'd almost lost him, and kept him, but that horror of losing him had been there, and I knew it, I knew that if I was ever forced to endure it again, I wouldn't be able too.

There was naturally an After Party, to celebrate the new Guardians. It was announced who would be guarding who once the month was up, and naturally, I got Lissa. She was there, but I didn't speak to her, I tried to, but she always turned away before I could get close to even saying hello. Sighing, I walked outside, into the morning air, since it was already ten AM at night. The Vampire Night, Montana sun spread across my skin. I sighed, and looked up at the skin. In awhile Dimitri and I would have to get going, our flight was at eight at night. And it took two hours to get to the Airport.

I sighed, looking around the Academy. I loved this place, I had grown up here. It had been my home for so many years. I had fallen in love with Dimitri here; I had made love with him for the first time here. My life was here. But then again, I said that, knowing that Dimitri was my life. I remembered his words from earlier, _'We still have a lot of time ahead of us, Roza,'_ I was about to go back in and find him, since I hadn't spoken to him since that quick kiss before the Test. I knew he was in the party.

Colourful lights, and laughter greeted me as I entered, I looked around, smiling. I loved these people. Kirova was there as well, Adrian was probably around too. But I didn't know where he was, through the bond, I knew that Christian was with Lissa, somewhere off to the left. Alberta stood with a few Guardians, including my Mother. A hard beat song was playing:

Two arms wrapped around my waist, and the voice sung along with the tune.

"'Tonight, I wanna give it all to you, in the darkness, there's so much I want to do. And tonight, I wanna lay it at your feat. Cause girl, I was made for you, and girl, you where made for me."

I turned around and laughed, "You know KISS and Western? Sometimes I wonder why I don't just walk away."

Dimitri laughed, placing his chin on my shoulder. "I do too. You're far too wonderful."

I was surprised with the public displays of affection, but I didn't really care. Touching Dimitri was something that I wouldn't ever deny. I loved him. I reached my lips up to his, and kissed him, and surprisingly, he didn't pull away. When I finally rested my head against his chest again, a slow song was playing, and slowly we drifted along with it.

_Another night goes by without sleeping  
'Cause I know I won't wake up next to you  
Another life goes by without dreaming  
And I can't help but think that mine will too_

I'm standing before you with this label on my head  
I'm pleading before you for you to understand

Baby it's you  
When I look up in the sky I see you  
Then I turn and close my eyes  
It's you  
When I'm sitting all alone in my room  
Everything reminds me of you

The time is slow and I am sinking  
Into a hole blackened with lies  
And though I made it myself  
You stand watching as my life passes me by

I'm standing before you with this label on my head  
I'm pleading before you for you to understand  
How much I adore you  
I'll be there till the end  
When everything falls down  
Will you hold my hand

Baby it's you  
When I look up in the sky I see you  
Then I turn and close my eyes  
It's you  
When I'm sitting all alone in my room  
Everything reminds me of you  
  
"Baby it's you. When I look up in the sky I see you. Then I turn and close my eyes. It's you. When I'm sitting all alone in my room, everything reminds me of you," Dimitri whispered in my ear as the song ended, "Forever, Roza, to death and beyond."

"I know." I whispered. "Dimitri, I love you,"

"I love you too, my Roza, I'm so proud of you, you did so beautifully,"

"You helped me. When each one of the Guardians showed up, it was like your Zen Lessons ticked themselves off in my head."

Dimitri smiled, "That was you, Roza. You could have easily ignored what I said. But you didn't, and I'm so desperately proud of you."

"Thank you," I whispered, blushing.

He laughed, and kissed me again, ignoring the stares that people gave us. It didn't matter; I was no longer his student. I was a Guardian. I kissed him back,

"Roza," he whispered, "Roza… Roza… Roza…"

"I love you." I whispered,

A grin appeared on his face, "Enough to meet my family.

My smile disappeared.

I was going to meet his family.


	6. I Have Figured Out

**.A.N: Hey Guys!**

**I had to repost this, becuase I'd messed something up, and it was driving me kinda insane. **

**Thank you all for the reviews! I love you guys! Here's chapter 6!**

**RozaRedbird **

Until the Last Rose Dies 

Chapter 6: I Have Figured Out

My hand gripped the bottle of Cola like it was the only thing that could possibly keep me alive.

Normally-- after five hours on a plane down to Dullas Airport in Virginia, and then, a plane from there, to London England, which was seven hours, and then, a plane from there to Moscow, and then, finally a plane down to Novosibirsk Airport—I would have been bored, and tired. But, in this case, I wasn't tired or bored. The only emotion I felt now was nervousness. We would land in Novosibirsk in a little over an hour, and from there, we'd rent a car, and drive to Baia, and too his family. I didn't really care about landing, or the car ride. Meeting his family, his Mother and sisters, if they didn't approve of me, I would be out before I could say anything. That was the way things went. Always.

My other hand gripped the armrest between our seats, I stared straight ahead, I heard Dimitri sigh, and put a warm large hand over my trembling one. I tried then, to focus only on his touch, trying to convince myself that his families' approval wasn't necessary, and failing entirely. I looked at Dimitri; he squeezed my hand, and spoke quietly,

"Roza, you are going to be fine. I love you, and I'm the hardest one in the family too impress. Nothing bad is going to happen. No offense to my family, but none of them are Guardians, they've all been trained, and as Viktoria says 'unpromised' but they haven't used their skills in years. And if they did, you'd be able to fight them off." He smiled wryly, "You've battled Strigoi, Roza, you will without a doubt, be able to battle my family,"

"But what if they don't like me?"

He looked shocked, "Are you saying that it is physically possible for people who share my DNA not to like you?"

"No… but, the Mother always hates the girl… because she made her baby boy be grown up,"

Dimitri chuckled, "Rose, if you've done anything of the sort to me, you've made me less mature, not more so."

I didn't answer, Dimitri put an arm around me, and I leaned against his chest, I realized how tired I really was. I stifled a yawn. Dimitri brushed some of my hair back, as I rested, the nervousness faded away, and maybe, through water, I heard a voice that I would have known anywhere.

"Sleep, Roza, I'll wake you when we land."

And I did sleep; I nested myself happily, into the world of dreams.

"_Rose!" Christian's voice called out to me, it sounded like he was in pain. I felt Dimitri's arm—which was already tight—tighten more around me. His smell was intoxicating, and I longed to run to find Christian, but for some reason, I couldn't move, Dimitri's arm formed a cage around me; Christian called out again, "Rose, please help! Rose!"_

_I looked up at Dimitri, stunned at how beautiful his features where in the dim lighting, _

"_We have to go." I whispered, "Please, Dimitri, we have to help him." _

_He didn't release me, "You will stay here. I'm not putting you at risk. Use your senses, Roza. I'll be back soon."_

_And, like that, he was gone, with a feverish kiss to my temple, alarmed at how fast he had gone, I looked around, screams where filling the air, I heard Christian's voice again,_

"_ROSE! ROSE PLEASE HELP!" It was loud, and full of agony. What was happening? His screams became faint, until they where choked off gurgles. And without seeing him, I knew, Christian was dead. _

_I heard the screams of my loved ones count off one by one. Ignoring Dimitri's demand that I stay where I was, I moved forward, I came to a clearing; Dimitri's body was in front of me. He was bleeding at his neck; a chunk of it was torn out, his eyes where wide open. His mouth drooping slightly. I screamed, and tired to run back into the woods. But I could not move. I could not stop staring at the corpse of my beloved. A voice sounded from the woods. _

"_Mommy," _

_Since nobody was alive in the clearing, and the killers had left as suddenly as they had come, I knew the voice was calling for me. I looked up, to see a beautiful girl, she couldn't have been older then six or seven, she made her way towards me._

"_What happened to Daddy?" She asked, her voice a sweet, beautiful sound, her eyes where looking down at Dimitri. Of course, I remembered now, this was our daughter, how could I have forgotten? But what was her name? Somehow, I didn't know. _

_I tried to find my voice, and succeeded, "I-I don't know, darling,"_

"_Is he dead?" She asked, taking my hand, looking up at me, her raven dark hair falling in waves down her back. _

_Before I could answer, nausea rolled over me, and I looked up, to see a Strigoi, who was covered in dirt, and very thin, he looked as if he hadn't gotten blood in years. The only garment he wore was a thin shift, which was ragged and dirty. He approached my daughter, from behind. A gruesome smile spread across his face. He reached out behind her, hands gnarled and grimy and as much as I tried to grab my daughter's attention, she did not look my way. She was now fascinated by a tree on the other edge of the clearing, I turned for a moment to follow her gaze, a beautiful bird sat there, one that seemed to hypnotize her, and I knew then that only her name would break the daze. But what was it? _

_Just as the Vampire was about to strike, my daughter's name fell on my lips, Iris, but now I found that in fact, speaking was impossible, due to fear. . I watched in horror, unable to move or speak, as the monster killed her. _

I woke with a sudden start. I sat straight up, trying to blink the last moments of the nightmare from my mind. The child did not exist. That was not possible. I knew for a fact Dimitri and I didn't have a daughter, any fool with eyes could see that. I glanced over at Dimitri, who hadn't noticed that I'd woken, since I had been so still, despite how sudden it had been. I was still entwined in his arms, the thin plane blanket only partly covering me, but I was safe. I moved slightly, and tried to speak, but the dream clouded my vision. The headache I'd been sustaining, though I'd been able to rid myself of the ghosts whenever I was out of the wards. Telling them to go away actually worked. But I had to be really firm, and loud, and often, people who where around, would think I was crazy. Tears formed in my eyes, and started running down my cheeks, Dimitri looked down, alarmed at the sight of me.

"Roza… what happened?" He whispered, when I only shook my head, feeling sick, and unable to answer, he repeated the question, "Talk to me here, Roza; What Happened?"

I shook my head again, and tore out of his grasp, I ran towards the toilets, and was only able to close the door before I was violently sick. The picture of Dimitri's corpse, and Iris', I knew the child didn't exist, but I loved her intensely. Her death—even if it had only been in my dream—hit me hard. I felt like I had lost part of myself. I slumped against the wall, and wiped my hand across my mouth. _It's a dream, it's a dream, it's a dream_ I chanted over and over in my head, a dream, only a dream. _Iris doesn't exist_, I thought, but my next thought, surprised even me, _but I wish she did._

When I made my way back to Dimitri a few minutes later, he looked up from the boring plane magazine he was trying to make his way through. His head snapped up instantly at the sound of my approach. He set the magazine down, eyes only for me.

I sat by him, "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry, are you alright?" His concern was oblivious, it seemed like he had spent the past week being concerned about me.

"I am now." And I was, as much as I loved the child in my dream, it didn't mean that she was real, and I was safe in the fact that she would never be. Safe in the fact that the pain I had experienced in my dream would never touch me when I was awake. It was probably just a Shadow Kissed affect, that ghosts could control my dreams. But what ghost would hate me enough to do that?

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I nodded slightly, "We were being attacked, in a clearing, well, we weren't being attacked, but Christian, and other people I know was, and you wouldn't let me go help them, but you went yourself, and I followed you into the clearing, when you didn't know, but by the time I got a view of the clearing, you were already dead."

"Oh, Roza… I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be, you're not dead," I pointed out, and went on, "And, then, through the bushes, came this… beautiful child, Iris… she… she was our daughter, with your eyes and my hair… she asked me what had happened to you, and I said I didn't know. I couldn't remember her name, but she was staring at this tree… with a amazingly beautiful bird in it… as much as I tried to get her attention, she wouldn't look at me, until I remembered her name… and… by then it was too late. I watched our daughter being killed."

Tears consumed me again, and I wept bitterly in his arms for a few moments, as he rocked me back and forth. After a moment, I looked up at him, drying my eyes, what emotional whiplash.

"We don't have a daughter together Rose, and I know you don't have any daughters or sons, and neither do I, Iris does not exist. She wasn't killed in real life." He whispered, and after a moment, he added, "And if there was an attack going on, I certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to leave you waiting, while I run into the mist of things. You would follow me, that much; I'm smart enough to know."

I smiled a watery smile, and kissed him, "I love you,"

"I know, I love you too,"

We landed awhile after that. I was feeling completely normal again once we had gotten off the plane—and it didn't take long for us to get our bags, despite a small mix up of what terminal we where supposed to go to. Everything was in Russian, so I felt a little confused at were we where supposed to go. Dimitri was skilled and confident, as always, he got our bags, and then we walked down to the parking garage, to a floor with a sign that said, 'аренда' which Dimitri told me, meant rental.

Of course, I remembered, we'd need a car to get to his Mother's house. Nervousness crept up in me again; I would meet his Mother in less than two hours. Dimitri talked quietly with the woman at the desk in Russian, so I didn't understand what was being said, it was only a few minutes until he turned back to me, with a set of keys, he walked over to join me, smiling.

"Can I drive?" I asked him, we walked through the automatic doors, and towards where our rental was.

He laughed, "As if!"

"Why not?" I asked, "I mean, we could spend a night in a hotel."

"And then we'd show up at my Mother's house smelling like sweat and sex."

"No we wouldn't."

We approached the car, and Dimitri got in on the driver's side. I sighed, and got in on the passenger side. This was a lost fight, even before it began. Once he'd backed out of the space, and we were going towards the exit, Dimitri answered my last argument.

"Rose, think about it, you, me in a hotel room, alone."

"We'd be able to change clothes and stuff…"

"No we wouldn't, if we didn't leave first thing in the morning, without doing any of that, you'd make some random excuse about needing to buy more clothes, and then the soap wouldn't be nice… you'd make up loads of excuses, which would mean I'd have to drag you out of there, un-showered, and we'd show up at my Mother's house smelling like sweat and sex, what kind of a first impression would that be?"

I glanced up at him, gnawing my lip, "Your point?"

"My point is that, to avoid any awkward interactions when we arrive, we are going straight to her house, and not making any stops." He glanced at me, and smiled, "No, Roza, that is not up for discussion."

"Dimitri…" I whined anyway, "What if they don't like me?"

"They'll love you." He said, taking my hand across the seat, "I promise."

Dimitri parked the car right in front of the house. It was quiet, which made me think that people where going to jump out and chase me away. I got out of the car, and helped him unload our suitcases, we had packed light— as light as you could for a one-month trip—and only had one large suitcase each. I looked up at him,

"Maybe… just so I don't make them chase me, I should just run now."

"They'll love you." He repeated for the hundredth time this hour. He stopped midway up the path, and kissed my forehead, "Stop worrying. You've battled Strigoi; you can sure as hell battle my family."

I gulped, and nodded, we made our way up the path, towards the house. Once we had made it up the steps, the door flew open, and a boy, who couldn't be older then eight, threw himself at Dimitri, a small dog followed. Dimitri hugged the boy back, smiling.

"Дядя Dimka!" He shouted, and then began to talk very quickly in Russian, Dimitri laughed, and replied, the boy smiled, and answered.

"Его имя Guardian!"

Dimitri scratched the dog's chin, and looked up at me, "The dog's name is Guardian."

I nodded, Dimitri stood up, and smiled at me, one of those breathtaking smiles, which immediately soothed some of my nervous feelings, he gestured towards the boy, who was now running around in the yard with Guardian.

"That, Roza, is Paul. He speaks English better then I do, which is saying something."

A woman, who was probably in her early fifties appeared at the door, she hugged Dimitri,

"Dimka…" She whispered, "Dimka, Dimka…."

He pulled back, and put an arm around me, and I could feel myself blushing as her eyes took me in, "This, Mama, is my Roza, Rose, this is my Mother, Olena Belikova "

She surprisingly hugged me. Was she Esme in the flesh? I wondered idly, as I hugged her back. Mother's weren't supposed instantly like their sons' girlfriends. Is that what I am? I wondered, it seemed silly to refer to Dimitri as my boyfriend, though, I guess he was, though it seemed like so much more.

"Thank you, Rose," she whispered in my ear, "Thank you so much, Dimka wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you. Thank you, for saving my son."

I only nodded; his family would have loved me if I was Satan. They already did love me, due to the fact that I had been the only thing standing between their beloved Dimitri, and death, or… being turned, I inwardly shuddered at the thought.

I stepped away, smiling, "I'm very pleased to meet you… Ms. Belikova,"

"Please call me Olena, after all you have done for the family, I do not see a reason for formalities, you are already part of us."

I was only able to glance at Dimitri's smug smile, as a woman, who looked a little older then Dimitri, came in, holding a baby. Dimitri smiled, and stepped forward, the woman received him with an awkward one armed hug, after a few words in Russian, and she spoke in English, smiling at me.

"So you are the famous Rose we so often hear about?" She said, glancing at her younger brother, "It's a pleasure to meet you, I am Karolina, Dimitri's older sister."

"Happy to meet you," I smiled, "What a beautiful baby you have,"

"Her name is Zoya; would you like to hold her?"

I nodded, as she placed the child in my arms. After a few moments, of admiring the small child—the closest idea of what I would get of what Dimitri and my child would look like as a baby—if anything was possible, I handed her over to Dimitri, who looked at the child just as I had, with awe and longing. He handed her back to her Mother,

"He is treating you well, I see,"

She nodded, "We actually decided to raise our children as friends… what we had just sizzled out, and I'm seeing a Guardian now."

"I'm so glad you're happy," He said, "You needed someone, Karolina,"

She laughed, "I didn't. I have my son and my daughter, you needed Roza," She smiled at me, "And I'm so glad you found her."

A squeal and the thundering of steps was all I heard before a girl, who looked slightly younger then me came running down the steps, and flung herself at Dimitri. He laughed, and talked with her for awhile. I looked at him, he seemed so happy, he had spoken of his family often enough. But I never actually imagined what it would be like to see him with them. With Dimitri's arm still around her, he turned to me.

"Viktoria, this is Rose,"

She jumped out of his arms, and hugged me, kissing me on each cheek like the French did. She was beautiful, like Dimitri was handsome. Was their entire family attractive like he was?

"Rose, I've wanted to meet you for such a long time!"

"Viktoria…" Dimitri said, I could tell she was being a little too impulsive, but I liked it, I liked his entire family, and I knew from looking at them, that they liked me too. My eyes travelled around the entrance hall, and then, stopped on a thin woman, looking at me with distaste.

It was going to be a long month.


	7. How This World Turns Cold

**.A.N: M RATED SCENE IN THIS CHAPTER!**

**First of all, I want you all to know that ****there is an M rated scene in this chapter****, if you don't want to read it, I'd suggest that you stop reading when Dimitri says, "No, nothing is as perfect as you, my Roza," and start reading again when Rose says, "Wow."**

**I hurt my wrist, I think its Wrist Tendonitis and the brace I have on it, makes it hard to write, so, expect less updates this week then usual. **

**You get Dimitri's point of view later in this chapter, at the beginning its Rose's, and the beginning of next chapter will be Rose's. **

**Thanks for the reviews, I love you guys :)**

**Take Care, **

**RozaRedbird **

Until the Last Rose Dies

Chapter 7: How This World Turns Cold

The woman stared at me with such hatred that I felt like taking a few steps back. It was surprising. I shrunk a little into Dimitri's embrace, and he looked down, at my upset expression, and followed my gaze, his eyes rested on the woman, she was short, and bony, and looked older then anyone else in the room, but her eyes were startlingly alive.

When Dimitri next spoke his voice was chilly and stern, I'd only heard that tone one other time,

_The door opened._

_I was ready to handle another student, or even possibly the Matron, what I was not ready for, was Dimitri. He burst in like he expected to find us there, and crossed the room in a blink of an eye. I understood now why Mason had called him a God. He jerked Jesse up by the collar of his shirt, nearly holding the Moroi off the ground. _

"_What's your name?" He barked,_

"_J-Jesse, sir, Jesse Zeklos, sir,"_

"_Mr. Zeklos, do you have permission to be in this part of the dorm?"_

"_N-no sir,"_

"_Do you know the rules about male and female interaction around here?"_

"_Yes, sir,"_

"_Then I suggest you get out of here as quickly as possible, before someone catches you, and punishes you appropriately, and if I ever catch you again, __**I**__ will be the one to punish you, and it will hurt. A lot, are we clear?" Jesse nodded, none of the bravo he usually showed was there, I guess there was 'usually' and then there was being held in the grip, of a really tall, really strong, and really pissed off Russian guy. "Then go,"_

_Dimitri let Jesse go, and if possible, Jesse got out of there faster then Dimitri had burst in. My mentor turned to me, a dangerous glint in his eye. _

_Then it shifted. _

I was jerked back to the present by Dimitri's cold voice.

"Babushka, is there a need to stare at Rose with such hatred?" His voice burned on the word, "She has done nothing to you, you have not even spoken a word to her, and she has done nothing to hurt the family, there is no reason for it."

I didn't imagine that Dimitri would hold his Grandmother partly off the ground and yell at her, and he certainly wasn't yelling now. But soon enough, if she angered him, he would resort to it. The dangerous glint in his eye was enough to mirror any of those threats, however.

The woman sidestepped, "I wasn't glaring at her, Я видел, могу ли я сказать, что она носит ребенка я не могу не Но она поверьте мне," Those words spiked up a response in Dimitri. His mouth turned into a firm line.

"No, you are mistaken." Dimitri snapped, "You where glaring at her,"

"I was merely thinking,Она носит ребенка Димка она носит ребенка" she put on an innocent smile, and I could tell Dimitri was about to lose it, I put a hand on his arm,

"It isn't worth it…" I murmured, low enough for only him to hear, "It isn't worth it, whatever she said.

"Of course you were, Babushka," he then turned back to his family, "Where is Sonya?"

"At work," Olena answered, "She should be home soon. We can all talk then. Why don't you go give Roza a tour of the house? She will be sleeping in your room, no?"

"If she wants too," Dimitri said, glancing slyly down at me.

I smiled back. "Of course I want too, thank you."

Dimitri's gaze moved back to his Mother, "We have had a long day of travelling, would you mind if we went up to rest for awhile? You can call us down once Sonya gets home."

"Yes, Dimka, both you and Rose need rest." She said, kissing his cheek, and hugging me, "It is so good to know you, Rose,"

"You too," I smiled

"Viktoria's room, Sonya's room, Karolina's room, Paul's room, My Mother's room," Dimitri ticked off, as we reached the back of the house, "And, this," he said, touching a door handle, "Is my room."

The door swung inward, and I looked around, you could definitely see a Western theme, there was a large bookcase facing the south wall, a double sized bed, which had been made up, and now had two pillows on it, and under the window sat a dresser, the top was cluttered with photos, across the room, was a desk, with what looked like an old book on it, the book was open, as if someone had had to go and left their page.

"Mama changes nothing," Dimitri murmured, touching the page, "This is where I left off four years ago."

"What book is it?" I asked,

"One of Mama's classics, she has a lot more of them downstairs. You would commonly know it as Treasure Island." He turned the book over, it was very old, "I've been reading these for years,"

I imagined a young Dimitri, sitting at the desk, probably at age nine or ten, turning each page, reading them with uttermost care. I smiled up at him, and touched his hand, before I went over to look at the photos, leaving him with his book.

There was a verity of photos. I looked at the ones at the back, which appeared to be the oldest. Dimitri as a small child, I stared memorized, as I watched his childhood, leading up through his teenage years. I touched one of his graduation; it was of him and another Moroi. My heart saddened as I realized who the Moroi was, Ivan Zeklos. I felt Dimitri's arms wrap around me, his chin rested on my shoulder as he examined the photos as closely as I did. My gaze wandered over the photos again, and came to rest on one of Dimitri, probably when he was four or five. He was in fancy clothes, and opposite him, was a Barbie Doll, in a wedding dress. Okay, that's not weird.

Dimitri noticed my suppressed laughter, and jerked his head towards my where my gaze was. I felt him grin.

"You never told me you had an ex wife, Comrade," I said, turning around.

"I've had plenty." He answered, "When I was little, I would always beg Karolina and her friends to let me play with them—they always declined, and then Karolina came up with the idea for me to be married to their dolls, they had hundreds, I was married so many times," He smiled at the memory.

"Were any of them as perfect as me?" I asked,

"No, nothing is as perfect as you, my Roza,"

I reached my lips up to meet his with an incredible amount of force, my arms came around his neck, and he had me lying on my back on the bed in record time, between kisses, I said,

"Is… this… really… OK… I mean… your… Mother… is… right… down….stairs…"

He pulled away, "I think she'd be shocked to learn about some of the places we do this, in the past three weeks, this is probably the most innocent."

"Oh," I said, hoisting myself up. He was hovering over me on all fours, as I sat up, I caused him to move back onto his knees, my legs between his, "So, we are doing this, are we?"

"I could consider it," He said in a tone that meant, yes, yes, yes.

"I didn't think you wanted your Mother to know that her Baby Boy had grown up." I said,

"Its only natural," he said, pressing me back down, as he loomed over me, he had worn his hair lose, so it hung around his face, he was devastatingly beautiful as I gazed up at him, my fingers trailed up his abs, and I pulled his shirt off as I went, I then moved down to his jeans, but his lips met mine, hungrily, delaying my movements. But when I was able to unbuckle his belt, and pull down the zipper, I glanced up at him,

"That was more difficult then it needed to be. Girls don't tend to wear belts,"

He laughed, and kissed me hungrily again, always wanting more, and I couldn't say that I didn't want the same. My hand moved down to his straining boxers, and rubbed the hard bulge, causing him to moan softly.

Desire swept up in me, and I moved to remove his boxers, but his hands stopped me, I looked up at him, confused.

"How is it far that I've lost, what, two items of clothing, and you've lost none?"

"Oh, how selfish of me," I said, pulling off my shirt, and tossing it somewhere on the floor, "You want to do the rest?"

He nodded eagerly, and moved down to my jeans, pulling them off, he moved to the lacy panties I wore, and with one swift movement, ripped them off.

"Hey, I liked those."

"We can buy you more," He said simply. He moved around on me, kissing down my flat stomach, until he reached "The Zone" I was already extremely wet, but when he begun to lick my folds, I bit my tongue to keep from moaning or crying out in pleasure, and arched my back, but just before I came, he shoved his boxers off in one fluid motion, and loomed over me, eagerly, I wrapped myself around him, and opened to let him in, and he did so, not slowly, but with one quick thrust that sent me over the edge, amazing spasms of pleasure tore through me, but it was easy enough to keep quiet, since my lips were suddenly very busy.

He came only a few moments after I did, but I could feel the tension and desire wind itself up in me once more, and I didn't let him move away,

"Harder!" I gasped, "Oh for the love of Christ, Dimitri, harder!"

He did, moving my legs from around his waist, to his shoulders, using my legs to push himself in as far—which, believe me, was far—and as quickly as was possible. I gasped breathing hard as pleasure tore through me, I was nearly thrashing beneath him, and slowly, as the spasms reduced, he moved himself off of me.

We were both breathing heavily. I could only think one word. "Wow."

He kissed me softly, "You are so beautiful, it hurts me sometimes,"

We lay together for awhile after that. It had been so long since we'd been able to just stay together after we'd slept together. I felt tired, but wonderful at the same time. I was wrapped happily in the warmth his body offered though it was June, and unlike what I'd assumed Siberia would be like, it was actually quite warm, though the house had a good AC, which ought to count for something. After about maybe an hour, or so, I heard the front door open again, signalling that Sonya was home. Dimitri sighed,

"Viktoria will probably be up soon, and there are about seven chances out of ten that she'll just walk in."

I flung my arm across his chest, "I don't mind if she finds us like this, they probably heard us anyway."

"We were quiet though, it also helps that my room is over a screen porch, and I think they were in the living room anyway," He kissed my forehead, and slid out of the bed as I did, we got dressed, and just as pulled on my shirt, the door opened, and Viktoria walked in. She didn't seem to notice anything strange, and I knew the entire family thought we had been sleeping; she sat down on the bed,

"Sonya's home, by the way, I just came up to wake you guys up. Apparently, I didn't need too."

"You are never going to learn to knock, are you?" Dimitri said, shaking his head, but he was smiling, "Someday, you won't knock, and you'll walk in on something you really don't want to see."

She laughed, "Yeah. Probably, come on downstairs in a few, it's nearly five. Mama planned a big BBQ as a home welcoming; it's going to start at seven."

My heart nearly stopped. Big Barbeque, which meant not just the family, would be there. More people to meet, more people who could hate me. Viktoria got up, smiling, and began to make for the door.

"Hey Viktoria?" Dimitri asked, when she was halfway out the door,

"Hmmm?"

"What mood is Sonya in?"

"The kind of mood that will have Roza running from the house screaming,"

Dimitri closed his eyes for a second, and took a deep breath, opening them, he said, "Right."

"Sorry,"

"Don't worry, she's pregnant, and for the first time. It always them emotional, especially in this family, remember when Karolina was pregnant with Paul?"

He winced, "I've been trying very hard not too."

She laughed and left, after comforting me yet again, Dimitri and I went downstairs, he lead me into the living room, Olena smiled when she saw us.

"You looked rested."

We sat down on the couch; Dimitri casually slung an arm across my shoulders. It felt weird showing signs of affection in front of other people, but we had nothing to hide here. Yeva was there too, that reminded me of Dimitri's strange response to her words in Russian earlier. Sonya came in, or at least, I assumed she was, since she was heavily pregnant. She greeted me, and was clearly in a bad mood, I looked at Dimitri to see him staring at Yeva, she glanced at Sonya, primarily her belly, and then at Dimitri. What the fuck? Was she saying that he was the Father of Sonya's baby? I didn't think Dimitri was into incest, and there wasn't a way he could be, since nine months ago, he was capturing Lissa and me, and bring us back to the Academy. She could be saying that Dimitri was pregnant. That was just weird.

**DIMITRI**

**POV**

Babushka was staring at Sonya's belly, and then glancing at me. I knew what it meant, she thought that Rose was pregnant, and I was the Father. That's what she had said earlier in Russian, it had caused a cloud of longing to pour down on me. Rose wasn't pregnant. I knew that was impossible, Rose wouldn't cheat on me with a Moroi, and there was no way that she could be pregnant. I wondered why Babushka was doing this. Maybe it was because she could see that right after Roza, a child was what I desired most.

I stood up, "Babushka, may I please speak to you outside?"

"Dimka…" Mama said, it was her 'Don't start something' voice. I turned to her,

"Don't worry; I just want to talk to her in private." Roza looked up at me as I passed behind the couch; I leaned down and kissed her, "I love you,"

"Good. Behave," She whispered back.

I smiled, and left her as I walked through the all too familiar kitchen, and onto the back porch, once there, I turned on my heel, I decided to speak in English, to make sure I'd heard her right when she spoke in English.

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"You need to realize that. She is with child, Dimka, Roza is with child."

"No," I said evenly, trying not to lose my temper, "She isn't."

"Dimka, you must listen to me. Roza is pregnant, with your child."

"That isn't possible; you can tell just as well as I can that she's a Dhampir. Are you trying to make me work through some stupid witch thing?"

"No. I am not."

"Then why do you say that Roza is pregnant? She's only ever slept with me, I'm sure of that. It isn't possible for Dhampirs to conceive together. You know that."

"Ahh yes, but she is Kissed by the Shadows, is she not?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Think about it, Dimka, she was brought back to life by a Moroi, a Moroi can conceive with a Dhampir. Her life is still hers, because of a Moroi,"

Ouch. That hurt, if Lissa hadn't been a Spirit User… Rose would be dead.

"Regardless—"

Babushka gave me one of her looks which made me fall silent, she spoke four words,

"She is with child."

And with that, she swept back into the house like a Queen. Leaving me more confused then I'd been at the beginning of the conversation. I ran a hand through my hair, and sighed, looking out at the yard, thinking about what my Grandmother had said,

And the weird thing was: it made sense.


	8. Embracing My Soul

**.A.N: Hey Guys!**

**I know this chapter is kind of crappy, but I felt so bad about not updating, and I left my actual finished one on the computer at school, and didn't get around to emailing it to myself. I am so sorry for keeping you guys waiting (chapter 9 will be up soon) but after what happened in Spirit Bound, it took me awhile to get back into my UtLRD mood. **

**For those of you who are looking forward to reading my version of Last Sacrifice, I've posted the summary on my profile (I'll be posting the first few chapters on the 26****th****). And for those of you who have read the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, I'm working on a story (that will be up Aug 19****th****) for that! Check out the summaries on my profile!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

**RozaRedbird **

Until the Last Rose Dies

Chapter 8: Through My Soul

I stood in front of the mirror, shaking.

OK, I know I'd actually lived through meeting Dimitri's family, but would I have been able to do it alone? Probably, I mean, now I could talk to them alone, but this morning? Like hell. I pulled my hair out of the ponytail I'd been wearing it in all day. It tumbled down my back, and I smiled at my refection. I pulled on a cute sundress, which was red. I smiled, remembering that Adrian would have liked me in this colour. To be honest, I already missed my friends back home. I mean, Dimitri was my life, my soul. But, regardless, I loved Adrian, though; I wasn't in love with him. The bond was still humming, Lissa was happy now, but there was still that black layer of distress over our fight. She realized what she'd said, and worried that I wouldn't forgive her, were, of course, I knew I would.

The door behind me opened and closed, Dimitri stood behind me, I could smell his aftershave, he was so close. It made me yearn to turn around and touch his face. So I did. He closed his eyes under my touch, and pressed his lips to my palm.

"You are too wonderful to be real," he whispered softly, "Amazing, even."

"I know."

He laughed, and kissed me. I kissed him back, but I then, resorted my mind to worrying. He saw my expression, and sighed, tipping my chin up to meet his eyes. "Stop worrying, Rose, you worry far too much."

"Yeah..." I was incapable of usual speech. Dimitri let his fingers trail down my waist, and linger at the tops of my thighs.

"Hmm…" he nuzzled my hair with his nose, "Well, Roza, we have two choices here, we could either go downstairs, or we could replay this afternoon,"

"I'd like the latter one, please,"

Dimitri laughed softly. "How do you feel now?"

"Nervous."

"Would you feel any different if we put it off until tomorrow?" He asked,

"No." I admitted.

"Then, why not jump in earlier?"

"Hey," I said, my playful mood coming out, "You can't just come here, and ask me if, as you call it, 'replay this afternoon' and then say that I have to go meet a bunch of new people, instead. That, my friend, is just mean."

"I was under the impression that I was a little more then just a friend."

"You are." I said, laughing, and turning around to face him, "I love you,"

"Do you just love me, or are you in love with me, huh?" He asked,

"Latter,"

"I know."

"Then why did you ask me?" I asked,

"It distracted you, didn't it?"

I sighed in exasperation. We were never going to get anywhere. But, though, it did distract me, I wasn't about to let him get away with his offer. Looping my fingers through the belt holes on his jeans, I pulled him towards me, and into another kiss.

"This is unfair," He said, between kisses, "You know I'm going to say yes."

"So? It's unfair that you look like a God. Deal with it."

He laughed softly, as he brought his lips back to mine.

Exactly ten minutes later, we were dressed, and headed downstairs. Dimitri had made good on his offer, but, instead of fully replaying this afternoon, he'd insisted that we actually go downstairs, and, so, here we were. Sighing, I couldn't believe how stupid I felt over worrying about whether we were making the right choice. I knew we were. How to deal with it was the question here, not what was the right path.

"Hey Comrade?"

"Hmm?" He asked, glancing down at me,

"I think I just came up with the answer to all our problems—"

"Rose, I swear to God if this anything to do with sex—"He interrupted me.

"No, I'm not trying to distract you," I laughed, "I hadn't thought of that, but that's a good idea, we could go back upstairs, you know."

He ignored the last comment. "Go on then,"

"Do you remember the Badica's Guardians?"

"What does this have to do with Art dying?" He asked,

"No, not him, last October, there were some Badica's whose Guardians wanted to resign so they could marry each other."

"I heard something about it." He said, "Are you proposing? Isn't that my job?"

"Yeah," I said, and then, suddenly embarrassed, I went on, trying not to draw attention to that wish, "I mean, they went against the system, they did what we want. And, if we both know about two Guardians who managed to do that, why can't we?"

Dimitri shrugged. "We already are going against the system. Rose, it isn't just that simple. I mean, they were probably only like, a year or two apart. What are people going to think, that I kidnapped you? We have to take that into account."

"So? I don't give a shit about our age difference, and I don't give a shit what people think of it,"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "To be honest, I love the idea; I love the idea of marrying you, and living with you with Humans, and leaving all this behind. If it's what you want, I have nothing against it."

"But…" I prompted.

"There aren't any buts. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, regardless of whether I'm guarding someone or not. That much, I'm sure of."

"You love being a Guardian. Guardians like, forty years older then you respect you,"

"It's flattering, but there are plenty of people who are going to make kickass guardians. I don't care if I am or not. As long as I have you, I'll be happy. You are my salvation."

He pressed me up against the wall, and kissed me, it was a heated kiss, but showed every amount of passion that our relationship held. It was the truth, we loved each other most. They would never come first again. Dimitri did. When we broke away, I wrapped my arms around his waist, and hugged him tightly,

"I love you," I whispered into his chest, "God, I love you,"

He pulled gently away, and took my hand, "Come on, we were already ten minutes late."

We walked out into the yard. About twenty people were there, they all turned like somebody had switched something on once me and Dimitri came out, Olena was the first of many to get to us,

"Dimka! We wondered where you two had gotten too! You must be on time! What if you are late to your own wedding?"

I looked up at him. "You're getting married?"

"To one of Karolina's Babies," He said dryly

Olena laughed and hugged him, "I missed you, Dimka, I missed you,"

After a few more words, she left, and Dimitri greeted a few people, before turning back to me.

"The nickname Dimka is growing on me. I think I'm going to call you that from now on. Or maybe Dimi."

"That would gain an interesting response." He said, "But, since my Mother calls me Dimka… it would be a little weird hearing it from you… if you were screaming it."

I laughed. "Good point. I'll just stick with Comrade then,"

Before he could say another word, Viktoria came up to us, "Rose, where have you two been? So many people want to meet you!"

She started to pull me away, and I looked back at Dimitri, who was smiling smugly, "You aren't going to let her—"

He nodded, "I am."

I broke away from Viktoria, and grabbed him so that his ear was inches from my lips, "I am never, _never_ going to have sex with you again, do understand that?"

He nodded, still smiling, "We'll see."

Viktoria got a good hold on me after that, and dragged me away from him. After a few minutes, I saw him across the yard, laughing with about three friends. Viktoria smiled when she saw her friends, and introduced them to me, they were all girls, and looked nice. They smiled when they saw me, and Viktoria pointed at each one in turn as she said the girl's name,

"Tatyana, Anna, Svetlana, Olga, Maria, and Antonia,"

"Anni, Viktoria," Anni said, "Not Antonia."

"She's my friend, and her boyfriend happens to be a close friend of Dimka's." She laughed, "Ideal situation, if you ask me. Were the guys?"

"In Novosibirsk, hunting," Anni explained, she then turned to me, "I have an apartment in the heart of the city. I just came out here to see Dimka, and meet you. Viktoria is so pleased that you're around her age."

"I am." Viktoria answered, "Very. I have to go now, though; I'm meeting a friend,"

I looked at Anni, she had bright blue eyes and red hair, I thought we'd get along nicely. I smiled at Viktoria,

"It's fine, except…" I had easily recognized the slightly flushed look, and eagerness to meet her friend, "What's his name?"

She looked surprised, "Rolan!"

I laughed, "Cool, go have fun!"

She laughed, and ran through the back gate. I watched her go, smiling, four of the five girls Viktoria had introduced me had turned away, and were talking excitedly in Russian, Anni smiled at me.

"So, how long are you and Dimka planning to be in Russia?"

"About a month,"

"Why'd you come here?"

"To get away," I blurted without thinking, I blushed, "Um… I meant, I mean…"

She smiled, and put a hand on my arm, "Its OK. I understand. Look, I know how hard it is."

At that moment, Dimitri and a friend, came up to us, Dimitri wrapped an arm around my waist, I was about to introduce him to Anni, when I realized that he probably already knew her. His friend walked straight up to Anni, he was a well built reasonable looking Dhampir. He leaned down and kissed her. For, a moment, they were lost in their own word. Dimitri took this moment to whisper in my ear,

"Are you still planning on punishing me? You looked pretty comfortable when I walked up. I don't think Viktoria tried to murder you."

"Trust me. She did."

"Where is she?"

"She left to meet a friend." I lied, I knew well enough not to mention Rolan to Dimitri. But he caught the tone in my voice.

"What kind of friend?"

"Just a friend,"

"There can be different meanings of 'friend', Roza,"

"I don't know what you mean," I said innocently,

"A friend is somebody who you care about, and spend time with, but don't hold any romantic feelings for. A 'friend' is somebody who, you're secretly seeing, or just went on your first date with, and don't want to admit that there's more then friendship between you. Which one is it?"

"I'm still confused."

"A friend does this," He shook my hand, "And a 'friend' does this,"

He leaned in and kissed me in a way that should be illegal, especially in public. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and answered him with as much power as he'd greeted me. The kiss went on a moment longer, before he broke away.

"Do you understand?" He whispered in my ear,

"I think I might need you to tell me what the meaning of 'friend' is again,"

"Which one is it?"

"You know, I'm thinking of putting your punishment back up. You know what? I think I will,"

"Roza…"

I sighed in defeat, "It's a 'friend', and his name is Rolan,"

He ran a hand through his hair, "My little sister is having her face sucked off by some guy. That isn't right."

"Don't tell her I told you," I said automatically,

"I think it's just a fling, knowing Viktoria, so I won't and the fact that I don't want you ripped to shreds right in front of my eyes," He sighed, "She can be violent,"

I laughed, wrapping my arms around him, "And you're saying you can't be?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," He murmured, his head close to mine,

I reached up and kissed him. Happiness soared through my body at every angle. We where together, and it would always stay that way.


	9. I Know I'll Find

**.A.N: Hey Guys!**

**I hope you'll like this chapter, sorry I didn't get it up yesterday, well, I stayed up until 1:17 in the morning writing it, and I started at 10:30 at night, so at least, I tried.**

**I was so surprised by the response I got to Chapter Eight! Eighteen reviews for one chapter! That's the largest amount I've ever had for any of my stories! I love you guys so much! Thank you for all the support! **

**Enjoy! And don't forget to review!**

**RozaRedbird **

Chapter 9:  
I'll Know I'll Find

I woke up, staring into the most eyes on the planet.

"Good morning," I whispered, he smiled, weakly,

"Good morning, Roza,"

I looked at him for a moment, "What?"

He frowned, "What? Is something wrong?"

I looked at him strangely, "Dimitri, something's been bothering you all week, what is it?"

He sat up, "Nothing, why would you think that?"

"Because you just said 'why you think that?' Which means something is wrong,"

He reached over and kissed me, looking me in the eyes, I almost drowned in those depths of brown. He pulled back slightly, "Nothing is wrong, I was only thinking,"

"About?" I asked, watching as he got out of the bed, dude to last night's lovemaking, he was completely naked, I decided in that moment that nobody could be more perfect.

"Us,"

"Hmmm…" I said, as he reached for his robe, "You think about 'us' a lot. Are you having second thoughts about telling Tasha no?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Roza, that was months ago. I know I made the right choice."

He turned to the window, pushing the curtains back, I watched him. Something told me that he wasn't lying—but he wasn't being completely truthful. I reached for my kimono, and put it on before I climbed out of bed, and joined him. I wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning my head on his back,

"Talk to me, please,"

"Nothing's wrong, Roza," He put an arm around me, pulling me around to his side, "I promise you, nothing s wrong,"

"But something is worrying you," I pointed out, "Stop with all the 'I was thinking about us' shit,"

A wry smile crossed his face, "Something is worrying me. I'll admit that,"

"Does it involve us?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to leave me?" I asked,

"No…" He gave me a look that was appropriate for if I'd just asked him if pillows could fly.

"Is it the usual?" I asked, "I thought we came up with an answer for that,"

"A solution, and not exactly," He sighed, "It's not important, Rose,"

"Then why won't you tell me? You already admitted that it has to do with us. Why can't you just fess up and tell me? Were you having an affair with a Barbie?"

"I am never going to live that down, am I?" He said, "What time is it?"

I glanced at the clock, "Ten thirty,"

"We slept a long time," He said, pulling away, and moving towards the dresser, "Someone's coming over at eleven, you'll like them. But, they might be a little upset with me if you're in a kimono, and I'm in a bathrobe,"

This confused me, but I recognized his attempt to change the subject, "Comrade…"

"Rose, please let it go," He said, pulling on a pair of jeans, he flicked his hair out of his face and looked up at my scowl, and smiled, "Please,"

I glumly nodded, wondering what could be so strange that Dimitri would want to keep it from me like this. I made a mental note to harass him about it later. I pulled on a pair of jeans.

"So, Comrade, who's the visitor? Alberta?"

She was the only person who I could image would be upset by the prospect of me and Dimitri sleeping together.

He laughed, "As far as I know, she's still at the Academy,"

"Then who?"

As if on cue, I heard someone knock on the front door. I rushed to the window, hoping to get a glimpse of the visitor, only to remember as I looked out, that Dimitri's room faced the backyard. I turned to where he leaned up against the door, arms crossed, a smirk across his face as he watched me.

"There's no need to be mean," I said, crossing the room,

Dimitri gazed down at me for a moment, smiling. His arms wrapped around me, crushing me to him, his lips pressed against mine,

"I was only watching you," He mumbled against my lips,

We broke apart; I shook my head in exasperation,

"Dimka!" Olena called up the stairs, "Come down here soon!"

"He's early," Dimitri murmured, glancing towards the door,

So the mysterious visitor was a he, I raised my eyebrows at Dimitri, he only muttered something in Russian, and pulled me out the door.

We made our way downstairs; I did so, cautiously, as a trained Guardian should do. I glanced in the Belikov's living room, and immediately pulled my head back, pulling Dimitri into the kitchen. He looked confused,

"What?"

"Why the hell is there a _Mobster_ in your living room?" I hissed, trying to keep my voice low,

He shrugged, "You'll like him, come on,"

My mouth hanging open; Dimitri pulled me into the living room, where I got a better view of the Mobster. Or, at least, that's what he looked like: He was without a doubt a Moroi, he had tan skin, dark hair, and dark eyes, as he turned his head to meet my eyes; I caught a glint of gold. He had a gold earring too, nice touch. On either side of him, two fierce Guardians sat.

He rose, he was tall, but I expected that, he walked towards Dimitri, grinning broadly, flashing his fangs. Somehow, I found this more threatening then I should have done. Maybe it was because I had come into contact with Strigoi more often in the past six months then I wished for. Or, on the other hand, maybe it was just because this guy really looked like a kneecap breaking type.

"Dimitri," He said, "You're finally back, you're family has missed you,"

His accent wasn't Russian, but it wasn't American. My guess was that it was from somewhere in the Middle East, his gaze turned on me again,

"You must be the famous Rose Hathaway,"

I smiled, "Yeah, that's me."

He shook my hand, "I'm Abe, Abe Muzar,"

I didn't even pause to think this over; I just threw my arms around his neck. It made sense; his hair colour matched mine, as did his dark eyes. My Father, I thought, at last.

He touched my hair lightly, stroking it as his other hand pulled me tightly against him.

"My daughter," He whispered, "My daughter,"

Three hours later, all of us, Paul, Yeva, Karolina, Zoya, Viktoria, Dimitri, Sonya, my Father, and Olena where sitting in the living room, still talking. I didn't mind in the least, there was so much I hadn't known. I thought (reasonably) that my head might burst if I learned anything else new.

My Father was a knee-cap breaking Mobster, who I guessed was involved with illegal stuff. He had important, or at least, powerful connections, that was for sure. He was very close to the Belikov's for he had helped them greatly after Dimitri's Father had… left… for good. I really had wanted to know more, but the grim set of Dimitri's mouth when Lawrence Voda had been mentioned told me that it was an unwelcome subject.

"So," said Viktoria, catching Dimitri's eye, "Do you want to go shopping with me today, Rose?"

I wondered idly what Dimitri was up too, but decided nonetheless, to go along with it,

"Sure," I said, smiling, "I'd—"

"Oh!" Sonya gasped, hands on her stomach her face white, and then, after a few seconds had passed, she seemed to relax. We all were frozen for a second, before she gasped again, "_Oh!_"

"Sonya," Olena said, "Is the baby alright?"

After a moment's pause, Sonya nodded, "Yes… I… I think it's coming,"

And to prove this, she cried out, as a contraction knifed through her.

"I'll help her upstairs," Karolina said, jumping up and helping her sister stand. I wasn't surprised at her words; Dimitri had told me that for whatever reason, Sonya had decided on a home birth. It made OK sense; after all, Olena had medical training, and would be able to deliver the baby—if everything went smoothly, Karolina had had her children in a hospital, but, as Dimitri had told me, Sonya was a lot more… private… and her situation was different, Karolina had chosen to become pregnant with the Moroi she dated, Sonya had been knocked up by an uncaring Moroi. Either way, she was the first in the family.

Olena turned to me and Viktoria, as Sonya and Karolina disappeared upstairs,

"Get towels, and bring them into the bedroom, put them near the radiator but not close enough to start a fire or anything, we don't need that, stay up there, I'm going to need assistance," She looked up, and spoke quickly to her Mother in Russian, who nodded, and hurried out of the room, which surprised me, I didn't think Yeva could move that fast. "Dimka, Abe, you stay down here with Zoya and Paul, keep Guardian downstairs,"

Viktoria and I ran to do as we were told. The hours passed, and it turned out all of us were needed. Viktoria and Karolina allowed Sonya to grip their hands as she labored through it. I stayed up at her head, wiping her sweaty forehead with a cold cloth. Olena stayed around the foot of the bed, where Sonya's legs were spread, so the labor's progress could be easily checked. To say I felt awkward—or like a black sheep—was an understatement. I felt like I wasn't supposed to see this. Dimitri's niece or nephew being born, maybe I would have felt better if it was Karolina, or Viktoria, after all, Sonya had been nothing but rude to me for the past week. Or, then again, maybe not.

Though pretty on a normal day, Sonya definitely wasn't cutting it today. Her body was covered in sweat, tears streamed down her face, it hurt so much, I didn't blame her, it looked painful, for a second, I was grateful that Dimitri and I couldn't have children. I would never have to do this, but then, I felt sadness, it would be worth it, if I was able to hold Dimitri's child—my child, in my arms.

Olena straightened up from checking her daughter, her brow furrowed she glanced up at me,

"She should be farther along by now, its worrying,"

Sonya's body slumped as the contraction ended,

"How much longer?" She cried, for the first time in English, probably because her Mother had just spoken to me in English.

"Hopefully not much," Olena mused aloud, speaking in English for my benefit, "You should be farther dilated by now—"

"Is something terrible going to happen?" Sonya panted, as she forced her way through another contraction.

"No," She said firmly, "Spread your legs wider, Sonya, I'll dilate you myself. It will be painful, but it will ensure a safe delivery."

She nodded vaguely, and spread her legs. I wiped her forehead again with the cloth, feeling very awkward. I wouldn't leave; I knew that as long as I could help I would stay. As her Mother drew away, wiping her hand on a towel, Sonya cried out again,

"It's coming!"

"No, Sonya, you where at seven centimeters, you need to be at ten, I dilated you to nine, they will be more painful, but I could not pull your child out, I will if I must, but it is better to allow it to make the end of the journey itself,"

Again, she nodded, shifting over onto her side, taking a fetal position around her stomach,

"Ohhh…" she moaned, "Ohhh…"

Two more hours passed, I was surprised at how long it was taking for Sonya to be dilated one centimeter, but Olena didn't look surprised. Sonya moved into several different positions in those two hours, trying to make herself more comfortable, but it wouldn't work.

"Мне нужно толкать!" She moaned,

Since Olena was busy, Viktoria, who was on Sonya's right side, standing next to me, translated,

"I need to push," She whispered, as Olena gave instructions to Sonya, "Mama is only telling her what to do, which is push."

The next twenty minutes were spent with Sonya's gasping and crying out, she gripped the sheet hard with one hand, and Karolina's with the other, Olena turned to me, as Sonya took panting breaths.

"You can go downstairs," She smiled, "If you wish too, I'm not throwing you out, if you wish to stay, thank you for your help, Rose,"

I smiled gratefully; she seemed to have sensed my discomfort. I dashed downstairs, as Viktoria took my place at Sonya's forehead. Dimitri, Abe, and Paul were watching SpongeBob in Russian, as Zoya slept in her playpen, with Guardian watching over her. Dimitri smiled as he looked up at me, I sat by him, smiling,

"Hey,"

"Hello," He smiled, "It sounded like Sonya was being tortured up there, is everything going well?"

I nodded, "She's about to have the baby,"

He smiled, "That's good."

"Yeah…"

"Er… Roza, can I talk to you outside?"

I looked at him, "Um, OK,"

As we left the room, I didn't miss the wink that my Father sent towards Dimitri.

More confused than ever, I followed Dimitri out onto the screen porch, he stared at the window for a few seconds, before turning to me. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around me, resting his forehead against mine, he sighed contentedly,

"I never thought this was possible," He whispered, "I never thought it was possible to feel so… powerful, about one person, you proved me wrong."

"I love you," I whispered, still confused, Dimitri was beginning to sound like Edward, was he about to tell me that he desired my blood above everything else?

"Hmmm…" I knew he was smiling, without even looking at him. "Will you do something for me?"

"Yes." I whispered

I heard his intake of breath, "Will you answer me one question?"

"Yes."

I assumed the question was involving our jobs: which was why I was completely stunned when Dimitri sank down onto one knee, holding one of my hands in his own.

"Rosemarie Hathaway," He murmured, pulling out a velvet ring box, before glancing up at me again,  
"Will you marry me?"

He didn't bother with any declarations of undying love for me; he already knew that I knew he loved me more than his own life. He made it simple, and perfect, I gazed down at his face, it was undyingly perfect, my eyes followed the scar that fell diagonally between his eyes, and ended just below the beginning of his left eye, he wasn't immaculately perfect, not what a sculpture would imagine as a angel, but, to me, it was those little, insignificant flaws, that made him all the more beautiful to me. I couldn't believe it, in those four words, he had said a speech, he was willing to give up his post, and remain with me, and he loved me, more than anything else. I was his salvation, the same way he was mine, which is why I only needed one word to answer:

"Yes."

The box opened, and Dimitri pulled out a beautiful engagement ring, it had a silver band, with diamonds encrusted on it, and in the middle, was a beautiful, round, sparkling in the sunlight, diamond. He slipped it over my finger, and kissed it, before he stood up, pulling me into his arms, words weren't needed; the silence said more than words could ever have. He slowly reached down and kissed me, it was a firm, loving kiss, one that sent warmth all through my body, even to the tips of my toes, the kind of kiss that I wished would go on forever.

The moment was interrupted by the clattering of feet, and Viktoria appeared at the door, her eyes bright.

"Sonya's had the baby!" She said, still smiling, "It's a girl, she named it Anya,"

"That's wonderful!" Dimitri said, smiling,

"She's glowing," Karolina said, coming up behind her sister, I smiled, carefully hiding my left hand, I didn't want my engagement to stomp on Sonya's attention, "She's asking for you, Dimka, by the way,"

Dimitri nodded, and with a kiss to my temple, left the three of us. Viktoria's quick eyes spotted my left hand, even though I tried to hide it, she grabbed it, squealing, as she realized what had also taken place. Karolina smiled, and hugged me, the whole house seemed to have been radiating with joy. Olena appeared in the kitchen as we walked in,

"Mama, look!" Viktoria said, holding my left hand out for her Mother's inspection, Olena did so, and hugged me, happily.

There was a reasonable amount of celebration for me, for which, I felt guilty, I wanted Sonya to have the entire spotlight, not me, so I tried to be as subtle about it as possible, despite my desire to run out in the streets and cry, "DIMITRI BELIKOV JUST ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM! I WILL BE HIS WIFE!". Slowly, the two sisters, and Olena drifted away, and I walked towards the living room, where my Father sat, smiling smugly.

"So, Old Man," I said, sitting beside him, "You approve of Dimitri?"

He glanced at my left hand, and smiled,

"Of course I do," Something in his voice made me raise my eyebrows. He laughed, "I do 'approve' of Dimitri, as you say, but I also warned him about exactly what will happen to him, if he ever tries to hurt you."

"Silly," I said, "You've barely known me twelve hours,"

"I'm still your Father, and I have to live up to my Fatherly duties,"

I was about to respond, when Dimitri appeared in the doorway, looking grim, his eyes, which had been bright, only ten minutes before, I walked over to him, resting my hands on his chest as his arms encircled me.

"What's wrong?" I asked,

"What was Viktoria's 'friend's' name, again, Roza?" He asked, lifelessly.

"Rolan…" I said slowly, "Why?"

"Sonya told me the name of Anya's father," He closed his eyes, and then opened them again; "His name is Rolan."

Shock coursed through me, I realized with horror, what Viktoria had gotten herself into.

"No…" I whispered.


	10. Deep Inside Me

**.A.N. Hey Guys!**

**Well. This is an exciting chapter. **

**Hope you like it, thank you all so much for the reviews! I love you guys!**

**Take care,**

**~RozaRedbird~**

Chapter 10:  
Deep Inside Me

There was several moments' silence. It was broken by my Father speaking,

"I can help you,"

Dimitri's eyes flicked up, "You would do that?"

"Of course I would," He said, "Viktoria is family to me, I don't want her hurt."

He nodded, "Thank you,"

Abe nodded, and stood up, his Guardians following in pursuit. He went to the door, and picked up is coat, which, despite the hot weather, he insisted upon wearing. I broke away from Dimitri, and threw my arms around him,

"Thank you," I murmured, "Thank you, Dad,"

He smoothed my hair back, "You're welcome,"

He opened the door, his two Guardians walked out first, and he followed, the door falling shut with a soft click behind him. I turned to Dimitri,

"He can help her?"

He chucked, "Such faith in him, Rose,"

"No… I mean… how will he help her?"

Dimitri drew me close, "You didn't pick up much about him, did you? He's involved in highly illegal business, most Moroi, are terrified of him,"

"He's never even seen Rolan,"

Dimitri shrugged, "He'll find him. I find it funny how I have more faith in your Father then you do."

"Faith that he'll behead you if you ever hurt me?"

Dimitri winced, "I don't think I'll ever do that, and trust me, Rose, beheading is the least painful thing he said he'll do to me,"

"Do I want to know…?"

He broke away, and started for the kitchen,

"Definitely not," He called over his shoulder.

Two weeks passed after that, they weren't what you would call eventful. Dimitri and I spent a weekend in Moscow, sightseeing. But mostly we spent most of the time in Baia, doing the tasks that Olena couldn't do, since she was helping Sonya with the new baby.

Abe was as good as his word. The day after Sonya gave birth to Anya; Viktoria came home, and confided in me, that Rolan wanted nothing to do with her. I did feel a little guilty over that, but Dimitri didn't want his sisters to be blood whores, and so far, he was doing well. Sonya had crumbled once, but she had a daughter now, and I knew that she had learned her lesson with Rolan. Dimitri, upon seeing Viktoria's glum face had pulled her into his embrace, he admitted later, that he also felt guilty, but it was for the best. I had agreed, his words not removing the trace of guilt I felt.

Dimitri.

That was another story. I had previously thought that what was worrying him was asking me to marry him, but as the weeks went on, I realized that it hadn't been that. He still wasn't 'fessing up about what it was. I had pondered many, many ideas, what I had first thought, was that maybe he had cancer, but then again, he had said 'Nothing is wrong,' he was just worrying about something. Plus, if he was seriously ill, wouldn't he tell me? Why would he keep it from me? He knew that I preferred to know bad things, then to have them kept from me. Whatever it was, it had to come out soon.

I had slipped into Lissa's head a few times, she wanted me to come back, she felt terrible about what she'd said, Adrian had also visited my dreams a few times, and said the same thing, I missed them, but it was only a week until Dimitri and I left Russia, something I was grateful for. After all, I loved his family, but I missed America, I missed being able to walk into a bookstore, and actually be able to pick up a book, I missed walking past a group of people, and being able to understand what they were saying.

Dimitri left early that morning with some friends on a hiking trip. I woke late that morning, feeling sick. Rushing to the bathroom, I gagged miserably over the toilet. I glanced at the clock, it was six AM, and Dimitri had left only an hour before. Leaning against the cold tiles, I wished that Dimitri was going out tomorrow, and not today, I felt awful, I yearned for his comfort.

I leaned over, and threw up again, I heard the door open, and someone held my hair back as I was sick. Their hands were cool against my skin, once I had finished, for sure this time, Olena helped me back into the bedroom, and helped me lay down again. I closed my eyes,

"Thanks," I murmured

"Of course," Olena said, bringing a glass of water to my lips, "What could have brought that on?"

"I don't know…" I murmured, "Probably just getting sick."

"Stomach bug?"

I nodded, sleep was beginning to consume me, "I just need to sleep it off, I'm fine,"

She nodded, and left me.

When I woke up later, I decided that I felt way better. Weird. Probably just a quick stomach bug, I reasoned, as I dressed. Walking into the bathroom again, to brush my teeth, I noticed a box of tampons under the sink. My blood ran cold. Dropping the toothbrush, I reached under the sink and drew them out. I'd brought them when we'd arrived, two weeks after I'd last had my period. It should have been last week.

I sank down to the floor. My hands on my stomach, I couldn't possibly be pregnant… all the signs were right. Being sick in the mornings… feeling fine less than two hours later, I wouldn't have thought anything of it.

Except for the fact that my period was late.

After that, I didn't think. I got up, the house wasn't fully up yet. I heard Sonya crooning a song to Anya behind the bedroom door, Olena was in the kitchen, making breakfast, and she looked up as I came in.

"Feeling better, Rose?"

I nodded, "Yeah. No idea what it was,"

She nodded, "You're all dressed, are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah. I'm just going to run to the pharmacy; I'll be back in twenty minutes," I shrugged, "I want to see what they can give me, for it."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Nah, I'll manage, thanks anyway,"

She smiled, "Of course."

I nodded, and left the house. The pharmacy was six blocks away from the house, but it took me no time at all to walk there. As I approached, it announced itself with a bright red cross out front. I repressed the urge to run, and took a deep breath. Dimitri and I had already decided to renounce our titles, so, if I was pregnant, how would it change things?

I walked swiftly around the store, head turning this way and that, trying to figure out where it was, the store was small, so it didn't take me a long time. I saw the box: _Clear Blue_. I picked up three, and walked to the till, and paid for them. The cashier, an elderly woman, spoke English, she smiled warmly at me.

"Are you and your husband on babies?"

"Erm… yes…"

"That is so wonderful; you will show them to me once they are born, yes?"

"Yes." I said, desperate to leave.

"Good, good," She said, handing me the bag. On my way home, I decided to tell Olena about my suspicions.

Viktoria and Olena, where in the planning kitchen when I walked in, I dropped the bag on the table,

"What did you get?" Viktoria asked, putting a plate of butter down.

"I need to talk to you guys," I said, sitting down.

Olena put her fry pan down, and turned off the heat for a minute, she sat across from me, while Viktoria sat to my right.

"I… I think… I think I'm… pregnant," I forced out, upon seeing their faces I said, "I don't know how it could have happened… well, obviously, I know how it could have happened, but what I mean is that I've never done it with anyone but Dimitri… and Dhampir's can't have children, I know," I dropped my head into my hands, "You must think I'm some creep who cheated o Dimitri,"

Olena put a hand on my arm, "No, Rose… we don't think that… we know you wouldn't cheat on Dimitri. We would only resort to that idea… if there weren't any left,"

"Ideas…" I murmured, the bond… healing… "I think I know how it happened…"

I told them everything about being shadow kissed, the bond, Lissa being a Spirit User. Olena and Viktoria nodded along with me, and all the while, I was drinking water, so I'd be able to take the tests. And all the while, my terror of the prospect of being pregnant decreased.

"Well…" Olena says, smiling, "I think it's time to actually see if we're right. Go on up, Rose, then come down, and we'll read the results together,"

I nodded, it was only a few minutes until I returned, I'd left the stick in the bathroom, and Viktoria said that she would get it once the five minutes were up.

I sat in the kitchen, twisting, and untwisting my hands. I jumped when the timer went off. Olena nodded to Viktoria, who rose, and disappeared out of the room. I would be broken if I wasn't pregnant, and I would be uneasily if I was. Olena took my hand, and clasped it firmly in her own. I was sure she could hear my heart pounding.

Viktoria reappeared; her face betrayed no emotion as she tossed the stick in front of me. I looked up into her eyes, trying to figure out the answer. I could understand nothing; her mask was as firmly put in place as Dimitri's. It put a feeling of dread in my stomach. Her bubbly attitude was gone. She would be overjoyed if I was pregnant. Slowly, I reached for the pregnancy test, and turned it over to read the screen:

**3-4**

A wide smile spread across my face, I looked up at Viktoria, the mask had slipped, she was beaming. I threw my arms around Olena, crying with happiness. ,

"I'm pregnant!" I said, blinking, "Me and Dimitri are having a baby!"

Olena smiled and nodded, "You are, I am so happy for both of you, Rose,"

"How are you going to tell him?" Viktoria asked me,

I thought about it, I couldn't very easily just be sitting with him in eight months, "Oh by the way, Dimitri, we need to go to the hospital, I'm having our baby. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier," smiling at the thought, and the exasperated sigh that would earn me,

"I think the same way he asked me to marry him, quietly, and indiscreetly," I said, "We'll celebrate with the family afterwards, but for now, only we, and tonight, him will know, I feel so guilty taking Sonya's spotlight,"

"You aren't darling, there's a bunch of joy this week, both for her baby, and your unborn one," Olena said, smiling, "I am so happy for you,"

The rest of the day was spent helping around the house, anxiously waiting for Dimitri to come home. I hadn't taken the other two pregnancy tests, but I decided that it wasn't needed. I had enough proof on my side, besides, I just _knew_. The dream worried me though, were the beautiful child, Iris, my daughter. That had been the week our child had supposedly been conceived. Internally I hoped it had been the time outside the caves, and not the changing room. I was in the belief that I was already pregnant by the time we arrived in Russia. Or in the process of becoming pregnant,

I was on the couch in the living room, idly wondering about it, when I heard the front door open. There was a slight tussling, and Dimitri came in the room, tossing his hair out of his eyes. I had thought earlier that upon seeing him, I would have an uncanny desire to tell him, but nervousness flooded my veins, causing my cheeks to heat up.

He leaned over the back of the couch, and kissed me,

"Hello," He said, leaning his forehead against mine,

"Hey," I breathed, "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah. Walked twenty miles, great way to catch up. Avel's guarding Tatiana Conta, who apparently is dating Jesse Zeklos' uncle,"

"Hmm…" I said, smiling, "Strange…"

"Maybe they'll have a baby!" Viktoria said, catching my eye, Dimitri, not catching onto the fact that Viktoria should shut up, now. I shot warnings at her, but she smiled.

He shrugged, "Maybe, Tatiana would make a… interesting… Mother,"

"Wonder what kind of Mother Rose would make,"

Dimitri's voice was ever so slightly strained, "A good one,"

He moved away from the couch, and walked into the kitchen.

"He'll be happy about it," Viktoria told me, "You can tell he wants one,"

I bit my lip, "Yeah… but there's no need to make it so obvious."

"It's not obvious to anyone who doesn't know,"

"Guess you're right."

At that moment, Paul, dragging Dimitri by the hand, came in the room, it seemed that in the thirty seconds he had been absent, Dimitri had already been abducted by Paul, who was followed by Karolina. It was announced that we'd be watching Transformers, in English, for me, helpfully. Dimitri sat beside me, and since Sonya took one armchair, with Anya in her arms, Olena the other, and Viktoria and Karolina curled up on the floor with their feet tucked under them, and Paul laid right in front of the movie on the carpet, Guardian beside him, and Yeva had gone out to see some friends, I was able to put my feet up on the couch next to me, and lean into Dimitri, who idly stroked my hair.

As it turned out later, only Paul and Dimitri really liked the movie, if there was such thing as a guy-flick, Transformers would be it. There were excellent special effects, but it was basically blowing stuff up. Or maybe that was just me, because the noise made me pay attention. Most of my mind was devoted to trying to figure out how I was going to tell Dimitri tonight.

It was late when it ended, Viktoria said goodnight, and slumped upstairs, Karolina and Paul did the same, as did Sonya, Olena wanted to unload the dishwasher, I offered to help her, but she shooed me and Dimitri upstairs.

"Hey, I have something to tell you," He said, as he took his shirt off,

"Same here," I said, he looked up at me,

"Anything wrong?"

"No,"

"What is it?"

I sat on the bed, as he stood across from me, shirtless, "Erm… you first,"

He sat beside me, "I got a phone call today, from court. I'd forgotten that people can still request me."

"Who did?" I asked,

"Edwin Drozdov,"

My mouth dropped open. Prince Edwin Drozdov was one of the most powerful Moroi leaders in our world. Being a Guardian for him would give Dimitri incalculable wealth and position. Prince Drozdov would need protection 24/7. Being a Father would certainly deprive him of it. Oh, I had no doubt that he would be perfectly happy to stay with me, but there would always be that tinge, of… resentment, that I'd kept him from what really mattered.

"Are you going to take it?" I fought hard to keep my voice from breaking.

He ran a hand through his hair, "I don't know, Roza. We already have plans… and it wouldn't be for long, he likes to jump around, moving up in the skills of Guardians he has, so he'd probably find someone better than me in a couple of years. I was just thinking that it could really give us the money that we need to start our life together."

"Yeah…"

"Are you OK?" He brushed back a piece of my hair,

I nodded, "I'm fine,"

He didn't look convinced, but he let it drop, "What did you want to tell me?"

I made a very quick choice, not to tell him, not tonight; at least, I leaned over, and kissed him passionately,

"Only that I love you,"

"I love you too, Roza,"

We finished undressing, and, untimely, he seduced me. But I had already made my choice by the time he shifted himself off of me, and pulled me into his arms. He fell asleep immediately, but I stayed awake, watching him. My hand idly caressed my stomach. The two people I loved most, Dimitri, and our child. I couldn't do this to him, by being Edwin Drozdov's Guardian; he would get so much money, meet so many people, he would forget me, eventually, move on, be able to live his life, without the difficultly of this unplanned pregnancy.

Tears rolling down my face, I got up silently, and got a small duffle bag, I shoved a few pairs of underwear in it, followed by jeans, and a few T-shirts. I silently dressed in the clothes that had been thrown around the room. Leaving the bedroom, I crept downstairs, and found a notebook and pen, tears mixing with the ink, I wrote:

_Dimitri—_

_I'm so sorry, I had to leave. Please don't look for me. It's over, I can't keep doing this. I'm not good for you, I'm the opposite. I just turn love to pain for you, and will end up hurting you again and again. This is why I must leave. I am sorry. Please forget me, Dimitri; it's what I need you to do. _

_I love you, _

_-Rose_

I walked back upstairs, and left the note on my pillow, folded up, with his name written on it. I gazed down on his sleeping face for the last time. I had to leave him. I couldn't put the burden of a child on him. Not when he had just been offered the offer of a lifetime. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew it would be anywhere but here. I pressed a kiss to his forehead,

"I love you, forever,"

When I drew back, I didn't let myself look at his face for more than a second. If I did, I would back out of this, and I knew it was the best thing to do. Silently, I closed the bedroom door, and made my way to the front door, I opened it, and a cool breeze met me, and I left the Belikov's household, and the Dimitri, for the last time.


	11. I Can Be The One

**.A.N: Hey Guys!**

…_**Coming out of hiding…**_

**TWENTY FIVE REVIEWS FOR THE LAST CHAPTER! I LOVE YOU GUYS! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YOU GUYS! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!**

**I did this chapter quickly (so I could stop fearing for my life) so it's not as well written as the last one, but it's perfectly good. It's the last chapter before the real action starts, so, I was kind of… pushy… with it.**

**Thank you all for the reviews, I love you guys! You are all so awesome!**

**Enjoy**

**RozaRedbird **

Chapter 11  
I Can Be the One

**DIMITRI**

She wasn't in my arms when I woke up.

I rolled over, my arms outstretched; planning to pull her to me, and fall back asleep, but all I was met with was a cold sheet, and a rustle of paper.

"Roza?" I murmured, opening my eyes, she wasn't there, a folded card with my name on it was on her pillow, and the sheets were cold, indicating that she wasn't just in the bathroom. Sitting up, I opened the folded paper.

_Dimitri—_

_I'm so sorry, I had to leave. Please don't look for me. It's over, I can't keep doing this. I'm not good for you, I'm the opposite. I just turn love to pain for you, and will end up hurting you again and again. This is why I must leave. I am sorry. Please forget me, Dimitri; it's what I need you to do. _

_I love you, _

_-Rose_

Numbly, I stared at the note. Then, I cracked. Throwing the covers back in one deft motion I moved around the first clothes I saw on the floor. Shoving the note into my pocket, I stormed downstairs, to the kitchen, where Karolina, Viktoria, and Mama were making breakfast. They looked startled to see me in such a temper.

"Dimka!" Mama said, dropping the spoon the was holding onto the table with a clank, "What happened?"

I could barely find my voice as I handed her the note, "She left."

Mama read the note, "Did you two have a fight? The baby is yours, Dimka, I'm sure of it. She is shadow kissed, which makes it possible."

"No we…" I paused, thinking I had misheard, "Makes what possible? What baby?"

"You don't know?" Mama said, "Didn't she tell you?"

"Tell me what?" I was getting more confused by the minute.

"Tell you that she's pregnant."

I sank down into a chair. Babushka had been right. But… it was impossible…. She was shadow kissed… it made sense, everything made sense. She had told me she needed to tell me something, and then I had told her about the Drozdov Prince's offer. She had left so that I could take the position. It was so like her, so like Rose.

Regardless, I wasn't going to let her do it.

First step was to make a list of everyplace she might be. I felt that my chances were good that she would try to go back to the US, by the airport in Novosibirsk. Would it be best to go back to court, and wait for her there or best to try and catch up with her before she left? Maybe she had already arrived back in the US. We had gone to sleep around eleven, and it was ten now. She could be there, if she took the right flights that would get her there quickly. I looked back up at my Mother,

"I'm going to call Court, and see if she's back there; it's unlikely, but possible."

She nodded, "I hope you find her, God forbid you don't."

I moved into the next room, and dialed the number for the Court administrative offices.

"Hello, Barbra Hanson speaking, how many I help you?"

"Could I be put through to Guardian Rose Hathaway?" I asked, hoping against hope that she was there.

"She isn't here, I'm sorry."

"Then, if I could, I would like to be put through to Princess Vasilisa Dragomir, please,"

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Barbra asked.

"It's urgent." I put as much force and authority in my voice as possible. "Rose Hathaway may be in danger."

I knew by using Rose's name, I'd get put through. Everyone knew how close Rose and the Princess were, Lissa would personally murder anyone who denied her any important information about Rose.

There was a pause, "I'll put you through,"

"Thank you,"

There was a slight pause, and then the phone began ringing, it was a few seconds before Lissa answered,

"Hello?" She sounded tired.

"I'm sorry for waking you up, Princess,"

"Dimitri?"

"Yeah." I paused, "Have you heard from Rose?"

"No… I haven't spoken to her since June." I heard the regret in her voice, "I'm sorry, what's wrong?"

"She's gone, somewhere in Russia," And, since it was the biggest country on the planet, it would be a bitch finding her.

"Why?"

I closed my eyes, barely believing that I was about to say this, "She's pregnant."

"W…what?"

"It's a long story, believe me," I said, smiling slightly, "To cut a long story short, she's shadow kissed, which lets her have children with another Dhampir, she found this out, and just before she told me, I told her about a job offer I got from Prince Drozdov, and, so that I'd be able to take it, she left."

"She's running around, alone, pregnant, in Russia?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Adrian might be able to help you; he can visit her dreams,"

"Can you get him now?"

"Yeah, let me call him…"

"Yep," I said, leaning against a wall. It felt like years before Lissa returned to the phone.

"She's gone to Novosibirsk, she's sleeping now, and Adrian was able to contact her."

"Did she say where in Novosibirsk?"

"Yeah. She's staying with one of your friend's girlfriends,"

"Ah." I paused, I'd be able to find her, getting her to come back would be harder, "I'll be able to find her, thank you, Princess,"

"Lissa,"

I grinned, "Lissa,"

Hanging up my phone, I was renewed with hope of being able to find her. I knew Viktoria would be able to tell me where Anni lived. I would go as soon as I could; Mama caught the relieved look on my face.

"Found her?"

"Found her whereabouts, yes," I turned to Viktoria, "Where does Anni live?"

Viktoria told me, and I entered it into a GPS Mama brought in. It would take me about an hour and a half to get there, I decided to start out. I grabbed a messenger bag and shoved a gun—useless on Strigoi, but good on Humans who were helping Strigoi, and a silver stake into the side pocket. I loved these bags; they were given to Guardians, because they hid their contents from Airport security.

Mama hugged me before I left, "Be safe, Dimka, bring Rose back,"

I nodded, and left.

ooo

I knocked on the door twice, before Anni opened it,

"Dimitri…" She looked surprised, but nervously ran a hand over her hair, "What are you doing here?"

"Picking up Rose,"

"Um… I'm not sure that would be the best idea,"

"Anni?"

My head jerked to meet Rose's gaze, as she stood behind Anni, with her arms crossed over her stomach. My gaze lingered there for a moment, before I spoke,

"Rose…"

"Stay away from me," She said backing up, "Stay away from me,"

"Roza, I…"

She made a mad dash for the door, pushing past me and Anni, I, I ran down the fire escape after her, grabbing her just before she stepped off the last step, she tripped, and grabbed at me for support, and we both feel on the cement, I landed over her, but shifted my weight off her enough within a second, I held her wrists down, the position curiously like it had been in the cabin.

"Get off me! You'll hurt it!"

"Hurt what? The baby?"

"How do you know about it?"

"Mama told me!"

"I'm going to kill her!"

"Haven't you killed enough people already?"

She looked up at me, "Those were Strigoi. Get off of me."

"No. Not until you agree that you're being stupid, and go back to the US with me, to court, to renounce our titles,"

"Then we can stay here, it will take a lot of paper work, but we can,"

"No, Dimitri, that won't work either," She took a deep breath, "It's off, I won't marry you,"

"Why?"

"Because we always have trouble with our relationship, how do you think getting married is going to help us? How do you think going through some big drama is going to help it?"

"I—"

A sharp pain erupted between my legs. She had kicked me. It took a minute for me to actually recuperate, and Rose used it well, she scrabbled out from under me, and ran to the door, I was on my feet by this point, and made a move to stop her, we both ran out into the street, a group of humans stood there, the one who I assumed was the leader stepped forward, grabbing Rose. He made a motion with his hand, and several humans advanced on me, holding me back. He spoke, in perfect English,

"Dimitri Belikov, we've heard of you, Galina will be so pleased we've found you,"

Galina, my old teacher. She had turned Strigoi.

"Who are you?" I said, struggling against the five humans who held me back, "Let her go!"

He laughed, "If we do that, we won't gain immortality. She said to find you, and to torture you until you decide to give in… so, we'll just take her with us,"

"How will that help you? If I'm the one you want?"

"Not giving her the opportunity to play with Rose and torture you?" He shook his head in exasperation, "How stupid do you think I am?"

Rose's frightened eyes met mine, "Dimitri—"

Before I could say anything, a gun went off, sharp pain hit me, and I was falling, I hit the sidewalk with a hard smack.

"DIMITRI!" I heard Rose's voice; pain was exploding from my leg, "DIMITRI!"

The world went blank.

_What happened?_


	12. I Will Never Let You Fall

**.A.N: Hey Guys!**

**Sorry it took so long to update. I gave you guys a long chapter to be nice. Last week I had it off school, so I was able to update quickly, this week, I'm back at school, and I will be until the 8****th**** of July. After that, you get an entire summer of updates every day. But, until then, expect one every Saturday and Wednesday. **

**Info about my version of LS: I have posted the summary, but the release date has been moved from the 26****th**** of June to the 9****th**** of July. Possibly sooner, but I want to finish this first, and I have a rough outline of the plot in my head, but have yet to plan it out. I'm sorry for the delay, guys.**

**Thank you for the awesome reviews. I love you guys :) **

**RozaRedbird **

Until the Last Rose Dies

Chapter 12: I Will Never Let You Fall

**DIMITRI**

I was lying on a hospital bed when I woke up. The pain in my leg was gone, I was assuming that it was sedatives, I was wearing a hospital gown, I blinked again, and the room came into more focus. I wondered why I was there.

Before it all came rushing back to me.

Rose leaving, the baby, her being kidnapped, getting shot, the baby. Something screamed in me to jump up and get out of there. I needed to get to Rose. The door handle started moving, and Anni came in. I was glad to see her, sinking back into the pillows, I spoke,

"What happened?"

"You got shot in the leg; I didn't see who did it. Was it Rose? I didn't think she had a gun on her…" She shook her head, "I don't think she'd get that angry anyway."

"No… I…" I rubbed my forehead, "Humans. They showed up, at least twelve of them, probably more. They grabbed Rose and me; they were taking her to Galina… an old instructor of mine who turned Strigoi… and they shot me… and then… I think, left."

"I heard Rose screaming for me, that's why I came out, but when I did… she wasn't there… only you, bleeding on the sidewalk." She sighed, and looked away, "I called an ambulance, obviously. And they took you here; they want you to stay the night, but other then that they say you're fine, as long as you take it easy—"

"The night?" I asked, "They said they wanted to _turn_ Rose, the night may not have enough time. I need to get out of here."

"They want to make sure that—"

"Yes, I know why they want me to stay," I paused, "But I'm not a Human! That automatically lessons my chances of something bad happening!"

She sighed, "Dimitri…"

"She didn't let them turn me, and I'm not going to let them turn her," The scar on my neck seemed to burn, "Do you know how quickly Strigoi bites spread through your system? If they bite her, she doesn't have a chance of living, do you understand me?"

"But—"

"Two people are in danger here! Rose and our unborn child, we have to get there quickly, if she fights… she might lose it… please, figure out a way to get me out of here. Tonight. If I have to, I'll climb out the window."

She nodded, and reached into her bag, where she pulled out a plastic bag of what looked like my clothes, she tossed them at me.

"If you're sure you'll be alright," She sighed, "Do it quickly,"

I nodded, and she left. Getting out of the bed, I winced when I put weight on my bad leg. It hurt, but if I had to run, I'd be able to do that. The left thigh of my jeans were blood-soaked, but, hopefully I'd be able to use hold Anni's coat in front of it, as we left. Limping I got dressed, and knocked on the door, Anni opened the door,

"I can't believe I'm helping you do this,"

"Pass me your coat," I ordered; "I need it to hide this," I gestured to the blood-soaked leg.

She nodded, and gave it to me, we left the room, and nobody seemed to realize anything was out of order, but that's probably because we got out of there fast. Fear pumped in my veins, as I slipped into the passenger seat.

"Take me to the train station,"

She blinked, "What?"

I closed my eyes, trying to block out the pain of walking too soon on my injured leg. "Take me to the train station. I need to get a train to Moscow. Driving would be pointless, and I don't think they'd let me on a plane with this blood on me,"

"First, we're going back to my place, were you will put on some of Vladimir's clothes, then I'm making reservations for a flight as soon as possible."

I looked sideways at her, "Rose is in danger, and you're making me put on clean clothes?"

"Yes. If you want to get there quickly, you'll go on a plane, not a train. Are you crazy?" She glanced at me, "You need to get to Rose, and you don't need police thinking you've just murdered somebody."

Slowly, I nodded. She had a point.

sSsSs

It took about twenty minutes to get back to Anni's apartment. We got out of the car, and walked around, up the stairs, to the door. Stairs were agony; they involved putting weight on my bag leg, which hurt like hell. I nearly cried out when I reached the first step, but, knowing that Anni wouldn't let me go if she knew how painful my leg was. I needed to get to Rose, which was what mattered most.

It didn't take Anni long to find a few of Vladimir's clothes for me, I shrugged the jeans on, and threw on the shirt, moving into the living room, where Anni was, she logged onto her laptop for me, I quickly made reservations for a flight that would leave in an two hours. After that, I looked for a Holiday Inn, or another cheap hotel to use. I eventually found hotel that was charging a very low price for a night, after making reservations, I logged off, Anni was standing behind me.

"You waste no time, do you?" Anni asked, leaning over my shoulder. "You were shot not five hours ago, and now you're making reservations to get to an airport in less then hour and a half,"

I nodded, "No, not when Rose is involved. Would it be quicker for you to drive me to the train station, or just drive me to the airport?"

She looked thoughtful, "If I drive you to the train station. It will be quicker,"

I declined Vladimir's coat that she offered. It was warm, if I needed a coat, I'd buy one. We walked down the car, and this time, she let me drive, claiming that I wasn't as scared as she was to drive quickly. And, as it turned out, we needed quick, driving down the street, and I turned onto a busy street, speeding slightly—

And slammed on my breaks.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed,

I had just driven into rush hour. I glanced at the clock on the dashboard, I had an hour.

"Don't worry, we'll get there, drive three blocks, and then turn off, we can use the back roads to get there,"

"It will take at least twenty minutes to get to that turn off!" I said, "Ten to get to the train station. And another twenty minutes to get to the airport, which leaves me about ten minutes to get to my flight."

She nodded, "I know. That's why you're driving. We need quick."

I resisted the urge to slap her. My voice shook as I answered.

"Rose is in trouble! Don't you understand that? I won't be able to get to her for at least another twelve hours; I need to get the Guardian Headquarters in Moscow first, and God knows how long it will take me to get through all their crap, and convince them to help me. Hell, they might not help me. Then, I have to figure out where she is through Lissa and Adrian! That could very possibly involve me going back to the US! Saving her could take weeks!" I was shouting now, I stopped, and tried to calm myself down, when I spoke, my voice was slightly above a whisper, "If the Strigoi find out she's pregnant, there's no telling what they'll do to get rid of the baby. They'll do anything to get the one with all the information as to the whereabouts of the last Dragomir on their side. Wasting time isn't a factor here."

"Get out." She whispered.

I blinked, "What?"

"Get out and run there, you're right, you won't be able to get to the turn off for another hour, you know the way,"

I nodded, I did.

Pulling over, I got out; we met in front of the car. Our lips met in a quick kiss. Nothing romantic, reassurance, I suppose it was.

"Good luck, Dimitri,"

I nodded, and turned, and ran up the street, ignoring the pulsing pain in my leg. I turned were she said too, I knew my way now. I could run for miles without adrenaline, but, with it, I figured that I'd be able to keep running until morning. Pain or no pain. It was about twenty minutes before I got to the train station. I slowed to a walk before I got to the entry, I didn't want anyone to think I was crazy, or get suspicious.

Five minutes later, I was on a train, as it pulled away. I leaned back into my seat. It was a direct train to the airport, and I would arrive in twenty minutes. Forty five minutes had been wasted. Time moved to quickly for me. But, as the train jostled along, I found my lids growing heavily, and eventually gave into sleep.

_I stood in the train station. I looked around, Adrian Ivashkov was sitting in the café, and he caught my eye and gestured for me to join him. Slowly, wondering what this was about, I sat across from him. _

"_Hello," He smiled, "Coffee?"_

"_Uh, sure," _

_A coffee cup appeared in front of me. I picked it up, looking at Adrian suspiciously. _

"_How would you feel about a journey to Rose's dream?"_

_I glance up, "What?"_

"_I dreamwalk," He said matter-of-factly. "It's only lucky guessing that I was able to get into your dream. I just checked to see if Rose was asleep, and she was. I told her to stay asleep, but I had to get you."_

"_Wait… this is… real?"_

"_Took Rose a time to grip it too," he said matter-of-factly. "Guess couples pick up each other's traits." _

_Slowly, I nodded, "Whatever, you can explain more when I'm back in the US, let's go,"_

"_Hold my hand,"_

_I blinked, "Excuse me?"_

_He held his hand out, "Hold my hand, it's the only way I'll be able to pull you inter her head,"_

"_What?"_

"_I—"_

"_Whatever, whatever," I said, brushing his comment away, and taking his hand, "Take me to Rose; explain it to me later,"_

_He nodded, "Aye, aye, Captain," _

_The train station disappeared. We were on a beach, I saw Rose sitting away from us, nuzzling her feet in the sand. _

"_You go talk to her…" Adrian said, "I'll wait here, to keep the link. Remember, if either of you start to wake up, then the connection will be broken you'll each be in your own heads again."_

_I nodded, and turned away, then glanced over my shoulder, "Lord Ivashkov? Why are you doing this? I barely know you."_

"_Because I know how much Rose cares about you. She needs to know you're alright. I'm not that happy about the idea of her being with a man seven years older then she is… but it's her choice, not mine, and it's not like you're old enough to be her Father or anything."_

_What a creepy thought. I smiled, "I'm not happy about it either. Thanks," _

"_Anytime,"_

_I turned away, and ran towards Rose, not surprisingly, my leg didn't hurt in my dream. She heard my approach, and turned her head. Smiling, she reached out for me, and I was happy to fling myself down on the sand next to her, reaching into her arms. _

_Our lips met in a blissful kiss. When I pulled away, leaning on my elbow, as she copied my position—I was surprised to see that she was crying. _

_I brushed a piece of her hair back, "What?"_

"_This is my entire fault. If I never left… if I had only told you…" She shook her head, "You never would have gotten hurt, and I wouldn't be in danger,"_

_I hugged her to my chest, "Shh… Roza… shh… it's alright,"_

"_No, its not."_

"_I didn't tell you anything either." I pointed out, "You're right; something has been bothering me for the past month."_

_She looked up at me, "What?" _

"_The day we arrived in Russia, my grandmother told me that you were pregnant." I shook my head in disbelief, "I didn't tell you, because if you weren't… I didn't want you to hurt,"_

_She smiled, putting a hand to my cheek, smiling._

"_Well… guess what? I am."_

_I placed my hand over hers, "I know, and I couldn't be happier about it."_

"_I am so stupid."_

"_About what?"_

"_I should have known that you would be overjoyed about it. I shouldn't have left. Or better, I shouldn't have fought against you at Anni's house. We could both be there now. Safe."_

"_We can't change the past, Roza," I murmured, "Don't worry… I will find you, if it takes me the rest of my life. I will find you,"_

"_If they find out about the baby…"_

"_I'm not saying it will take the rest of my life, only that I would never stop looking. Where did they take you?"_

"_An estate, about an hour out of the city, near a river, I think." She sighed, "They blindfolded me, and took it off when we got there, we went over a wooden bridge…" _

_She started to flicker, I looked around, "What's happening?"_

_Adrian appeared by us, "She's waking up,"_

"_Rose! Hold on!" I said, she was nearly faded by now, I grabbed her, and placed a feverish kiss on her lips, her eyes stared at mine, horrified, "I will find you, and soon, Roza, I swear to you. I love you,"_

_She was gone as I uttered the last word. I turned to Adrian, desperate, _

"_More information," he offered, "That's good."_

"_Take me back!" I cried, "Take me back!"_

I jerked awake. Something had woken me. I wanted badly to believe that Adrian did dreamwalk, which my dream had been real, but I would have to see Roza before I could fully believe it. Anyhow, I had a piece of information from her, a wooden bridge, I knew it. It was to the west of Novosibirsk. The estate… there could only be a few… hopefully I would be able to find Rose before too long. I almost thought of just going and trying to find the estate without any help. But, then again, it was a hive of Strigoi. Taking them out on my own would be impossible.

The train was slowing down; I got up, and reached the exit the second the door opened, and walked out. I had ten minutes before my flight. I ran towards the terminal, and magically got on my plane.

The flight was about an hour; I tried to sleep, but failed. My mind was buzzing, making it impossible to sleep. But, I did have a fair amount of Vodka and coke in one hour, which made the pain in my leg fade, the only downside that was when I landed, I was intoxicated. I stood up, and stumbled to the exit.

"Are you quite alright sir?" The flight attendant asked in Russian, catching me as I stumbled,

"I… I'm fine, bad leg," I tried to say, as convincingly as I could.

She nodded, and let me go, probably because I was getting off the plane and not on it.

Stumbling out to the street, I hailed a cab, and told the driver the address of the Guardian Headquarters,

"That's halfway across the city!" He exclaimed.

I threw a hundred and a couple of twenties over the seat, "That will cover it?"

He nodded, and we took off, I leaned back. Feeling sick, I leaned back, trying not to vomit in the cab, knowing that the driver would make me pay for the seat to be cleaned. An hour later we arrived at the designation. I got out of the cab, without thanking the driver, with my hand clamped firmly over my mouth. Stumbling to some bushes, I held my hair back, and was violently sick. When I was finished, I slumped against the building, the nausea still resting in my stomach. A few minutes later, I was sick again, this process repeated about three times, before I finally felt well enough to go into the building.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked in Russian,

"I need to see Guardian Tarasov immediately,"

She raised her eyebrows, "He's in a meeting and after that, he expects to go home."

"It's urgent."

"He deals with a number of urgent needs,"

"It involves the safety of the last Dragomir,"

"Oh?"

"The guardian she's bound too—who can tell where she is every moment—has been captured by Strigoi somewhere west of Novosibirsk. Losing her means losing one of the best safety uses we have to keep track of Princess Vaslisa."

She paused, "Who are you?"

"Guardian Dimitri Belikov," I answered.

"I'll ring you in. Please sit down."

Anything to protect the Princess, people thought.

Anything to protect Rose, is what I thought.

"Thank you."

Hoping I walked in a sort of straight line, and didn't have vomit in my hair, I walked the few steps to the seating area. The receptionist made calls, and a few minutes later a fierce guardian was walking towards me. I stood up, shaking the man's hand,

"Guardian Belikov?"

I nodded, "Yes, sir,"

"I am Alexi Tarasov," He paused, "Head of Guardians in Russia."

I nodded. "Pleased."

He turned on his heel, and moved back towards the elevator, I followed him, a few minutes later; we were walking down the hall towards an office. He opened the door, and I followed him in, shutting the door behind me. He sat behind a desk, and gestured for me to sit across from him.

"You say that Rosemarie Hathaway is in danger?"

I wasn't surprised that he knew who Rose was, "I do."

"Where is she?"

"Off to the west of Novosibirsk, about a mile from the Orb, at an estate."

"How do you know this?"

I decided not to go into the whole dream walking thing. "The Princess was able to figure it out."

"Ah. I understand," He nodded,

"Will you send out forces?" I was unable to stop myself.

"Of course not. Losing Rose will be a shake up, but I do not see a reason to despatch Guardians—"

It was less then a second before I grabbed him, and was holding the Dhampir against a wall. I had been so fast he hadn't seen me coming. Points that would undoubtedly be added to my record, I had been able to surprise one of the most famous Guardians in the world.

"Rose isn't only bound to the Princess. She's also pregnant—"

"Blood whore in the making?" Alexi gasped, "So sad,"

I leaned my arm harder against his neck, making him gasp for air.

"Blood whore my ass, I'm the Father." I snapped, "Regardless of everything, she is also the best person to ask as to the whereabouts of the Princess. She's deadly and lethal, and on our side. If they change her, there is no, no chance of Lissa being safe. She will find the Princess, and kill her. She is lethal now. If she turns Strigoi…" I pressed my arm harder, "So, if I let you go, will you send out forces?"

He nodded, I moved my arm. He fell to the floor, gasping. "How… how can you be her baby's Father?"

I moved to the phone, looking at numbers to call forces, without glancing up, I answered, "No idea how it actually works chemically, but, she died, and the Princess brought her back to life, which, somehow enabled her to conceive with another Dhampir."

"But… a Moroi…"

"Do I look Moroi?" I snapped,

"N-no…"

"Precisely."

"If she cheated…"

Anger flooded my veins,

"I. Am. The. _Only_." I hissed the word, "Person she has ever slept with. Shut up, and quit asking stupid questions."

I found the number, and called for Guardians. They assembled in the reception. I walked to the door; Alexi was still slumped on the floor. I turned to him before I left,

"Are you coming? Or are you going to stay here?" He scrambled to his feet. It made me smirk to see a Guardian who had looked so fierce not an hour ago, kiss the ground I walked on. "Good. Come down with me, and tell the Guardians to obey me,"

He nodded, and followed me downstairs, after shouting out instructions to the herds of Guardians; we started out, moving separately to avoid suspicion. They would all go to Novosibirsk, and meet by the bridge, and hopefully, from there, I would be able to find the Estate, and rescue Rose.

Hopefully.


	13. I'll Stand Up

**.A.N: Hey Guys!**

**Three things: first is that there will be an ****M rated**** scene in the ****next chapter****, close to the beginning. A heads up on that, thought you should know. Second, is, more a trivia, I based the titles of the chapters of this story on a song. What song is it? The first person to get the right answer will get an expert of the sequel (which is beginning to take form in my head).**

**That brings me on to the third thing: the sequel. It will be up as soon as I'm done with my version of Last Sacrifice, which will probably be around the middle of August. The title will be Forever Gone, Forever You (not, The Reason). The plot for it will be completely different then The Reason's plot. It will start a few weeks after the Epilogue (which will be chapter 20). **

**Thanks so much for all the reviews guys!**

**Take care,**

**RozaRedbird**

Until the Last Rose Dies

Chapter 13: I'll Stand Up

Standing around an estate which most a woman had told me belonged to a very nice (if not pale) woman called Galina all night had to be one of the most painful, and boring things I could possibly do. We had made it back to Novosibirsk by late the next day. And, by ten, we had located what was the Strigoi Hive… and yet, we couldn't attack, because when we did attack, we needed to be able to run out into the sunlight, into safety, once we had saved Rose. And, in a sense, Lissa, if Rose had turned Strigoi, Lissa wouldn't have been alive much longer; despite all the protection aid she was given.

I only hoped it wasn't too late.

It was pure torture, being so close to her, and yet, she was so untouchable falling asleep, and trying to get Adrian to intertwine our minds would be too risky. I had to stay alert if we were attacked. As the night wore on, we killed five Strigoi who emerged from the hut.

I looked up at the sky. Dawn had broken an hour ago. It was finally light enough to attack, I moved over to Misha, my messenger.

"Tell the north and south to attack, make sure it's passed onto West." I glanced down at my phone, "At 6:08 we attack, all at once."

He nodded, "Yes, sir."

I moved away from him, and through the bushes, two hundred Guardians had been brought. I figured that the larger the numbers, the smaller the numbers we'd lose. Guardian numbers were dropping every day. I couldn't risk losing more than ten. I glanced up, my eyes flashing over the places where I knew clusters of Guardians hid.

"Move in," I ordered in a loud, clear voice.

Guardians moved forward, we neared the estate. It was bigger as more of it came in to view then I expected it to be. It would take forever to find Rose. I would have to find her fast once we attacked, if their plans where to change her, they would do so quickly.

Guardian Tarasov fell into step beside me, "North and South are moving in."

I gave one, curt nod.

"You better be right about this, Belikov. I have connections, if you wasted two hundred Guardians, and Hathaway isn't here. I will personally have you stripped of your title, and put on trial for treason."

I resisted the urge to punch him, fearing that would get me in more trouble then I needed to be in.

"I'm right about this,"

He nodded, and moved away.

We reached the doors. They were locked. Of course they would be. We moved around to the windows. Thankfully, they were big enough to climb through. Once we broke them. Several Guardians tried kicking them. But they appeared to be pretty strong. Bored of waiting for them to succeed, I stepped forward, pushing a Guardian aside, I held my hand out,

"Give me a gun,"

The Guardian seemed to think I had lost my mind, "You aren't serious. That will alert them to our presence."

"They have enhanced senses; they probably heard the racket you all were making. A gun will be quicker."

"Don't you have one on you?"

"A stake yes, a gun, yeah… that's harder to get through airports. If you're going through Human airports. Give me your gun."

The last sentence was said with as much authority and knowing as I could possibly muster. The Guardian asked no more questions, and reached into his coat, and handed over a shotgun. I mentally wondered if I'd end up shooting the same human who had shot me. I aimed it at the window, and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. I glanced at the Guardian.

"It isn't loaded?"

"N-no, sir."

"Then why did you hand it to me? You knew what I was going to do with it, surely?" I snapped, "Get me a loaded gun, or load this one. Now. And, as a Guardian, you shouldn't be going around carrying an empty gun. "

An older Guardian stepped forward. He held a shotgun, "Its loaded, sir."

Discarding the unloaded gun on the floor, I aimed at the window, and pulled the trigger, this time, a definite shot rang out, and it landed directly in the center of the glass. A few more shots later, the window was completely smashed.

"Move forward." I ordered,

Guardians began clambering through the window, others imitated my strategy. I stuck the gun in my coat, as the Guardian who had given it to me wasn't anywhere to be seen. The new Guardian still stood by my side.

"I'll deal with you later." I hissed, I was beyond angry, "Move forward."

We moved forward. The estate was beautiful, with Russian art, or, at least the room I climbed into was. All around me, Strigoi where attacked. I decided to find a Human; it would be easiest to get them to tell me where Rose was. Moving forward, I left the room, and turned left. Having no idea if I was headed in the right direction, I didn't stop, unless I was directly confronted.

Twenty minutes later, after killing three Strigoi, I found what I was looking for, a Human. I moved forward, quicker than they would be able to notice, and held the woman against the wall.

"Who are you?" I barked in Russian.

"Ina…" She said, "Don't… don't hurt me…"

"That depends. I won't hurt you, if you take me to where the Prisoner is,"

"The… the girl?" She asked,

"Yes."

"I know where she is."

"Take me there now." I ordered, taking out the gun, "And, if you take me to Strigoi. You will be the first to die."

If I had been in her situation, I would have been pretty freaked. So, she headed down a corridor, and I easily kept up with her. I knew I had scared her enough that she would take me directly to Rose, and not mess around. I would shoot her—not kill her, but shoot her, if she took me to Strigoi. I'd deal with Galina later—if I came into contact with her. Once I had Rose, the orders where to retreat. I would let Alexi know, and he would pass it on to the other two.

We arrived at a door, she punched in a code. I held the gun to her head, my finger lightly touching the trigger. The door swung open. I nodded, and took my gun away, I took off a shoe, and shoved it against the door, to keep it open, and walked in.

The room they had kept her in was nice. It was a junior suite, a nice bed. I noted, and as my eyes crossed the room, and fell on her.

She was standing in a pose, ready to fight, but relaxed when she saw it was me. Without hesitation she ran across the room, flinging herself into my arms.

In the midst of battle. My arms still wrapped themselves around her, and pulled her tightly too me. I kissed her hair, and rested my head against her, I reached down, and pulled her face up to mine, kissing her lips feverishly.

"You're so stupid Rose! You're so stupid! Why did you do that? Why? Don't you dare do that to me again!" I cried, her eyes where already wet with tears, and my voice sounded strained, "Don't ever leave me again. Do you understand me?"

She nodded, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

I kissed her several more times feverishly. Hugging her tightly to me, I whispered into her hair, "I love you, God, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you,"

"You're alright! Thank God!"

I pulled her face back to look her in the eyes, fighting the instinct to burst into hysterical laughter. "You where worried about me? You're the one who got kidnapped by Strigoi. I'm not even pregnant; you don't have any outer excuse to worry about me."

She choked on a laugh, and hugged me tightly again.

"I love you too," She murmured against my chest, "I'm so sorry, I love you, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry,"

I put my arm around her, and steered her towards the door, slipping my shoe back on, I steered us out of the room, letting the door lock behind me. Before I came to a dead halt, Rose behind me.

"Shit!"

"What?"

"I forgot the way out."

**ROSE**

I heard the door opening. Jumping up, I snapped into a defensive position that _he_ had taught me. The door opened, and I vaguely caught sight of Ina before my eyes swept the man in front of her.

Dimitri.

He was alright. Thank God. My defenses dropped instantly, and I found myself bounding across the room, and smacking into him, he held me tightly against him, kissing my hair, he murmured a few things in Russian, before pulling my face up to his and kissing me.

"You're so stupid Rose! You're so stupid! Why did you do that? Why? Don't you dare do that to me again! Don't ever leave me again. Do you understand me?" His voice was strained with emotion.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, incapable of usual speech.

Dimitri kissed me again, "I love you, God, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you,"

He was alive, he was alright. Thankfulness spread through my body like wild fire.

"You're alright!" I murmured, "Thank God."

He pulled back, looking me in the eyes, "You where worried about me? You're the one who got kidnapped by Strigoi. I'm not even pregnant; you don't have any outer excuse to worry about me."

I laughed, "I love you, I'm so sorry, I love you, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry,"

We moved to the exit, and walked down the hall a ways until Dimitri came to a sudden halt, I bumped into him, and stopped.

"Shit!"

I looked up at him, "What?"

"I forgot the way out."

"We'll wing it," I said simply, pulling him down a hallway, we came to a door, and after several twists and turns, we started running.

"Here," Dimitri said, holding something out to me,

"What?"

"Take it,"

I looked at what he was holding: a gun, I took it from him, "You know it won't kill Strigoi,"

"It will slow them down. It will kill humans. It's halfway loaded by now. I had to shoot it to get in here."

I nodded, we ran faster, and ended up in a grand entryway.

An Entryway, flooded with Strigoi.

"Get behind me!"

With one fluid motion, Dimitri pushed me behind him, guarding me with his body. He quickly pulled out a phone, pressed something, and spoke into it.

"Retreat. _Now_!"

Nausea rolled through me. Despite Dimitri's need to keep me behind him, I went into the instinctive fighting stance, back to back.

"Um, Dimitri?"

"What?"

"Do you have an extra stake?"

"Oh. That." Metal touched my hand. "Use that and the gun, swiftly, don't fight unless directly confronted."

He was no longer my lover, he was my boss. I obeyed him happily. We moved into the room. All around us where Strigoi, I fought to keep my mind on the battle, and not let fear overtake me, and Dimitri's body being pressed against mine certainly wasn't helping that tactic. He pressed me into a corner, guarding me with his body.

Strigoi came at him from every side.

It was amazing to watch. He dispatched Strigoi like a machine. There were only three Strigoi left in the room. I grabbed him.

"Stop!" I yelled, "We can retreat! Let's go!"

His eyes turned back to mine for a minute, they said that he would continue fighting Strigoi, and protecting me until he fell from exhaustion, mine told him that we should go while there where very few Strigoi in the room, and before more arrived. Finally, he sighed, still sheltering me with his body, we moved towards the broken window.

DRDRDRD

It wasn't long until we joined the other Guardians. They stood in a cluster about a mile from the estate, like Dimitri and me, they where all sweaty, bloody and tired. Dimitri shouted out orders in Russian, and they dispersed, until only one Guardian remained. I recognized him. He was Guardian Alexi Tarasov, head of Guardians in Russia. All of Russia.

He spoke with Dimitri for a few minutes, before he turned to me.

"Rose Hathaway," He said, shaking my head, "A pleasure, a real pleasure,"

I nodded, "And you, Guardian Tarasov."

He looked up at Dimitri, "She's a fine woman, Belikov. I will make sure your leadership in this is greatly mentioned in the report to the Queen."

Dimitri nodded, and Guardian Tarasov turned away, getting in one of the SUV's that was leaving. I turned to Dimitri,

"And how are we going to get back to Baia?"

He smiled, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out car keys, "I borrowed it from a friend. You want to drive, or should I?"

"You can drive? Doesn't it hurt your leg?" I paused, "How is your leg, by the way?"

He shrugged, "Yes, I can drive, I learned when I was seventeen in answer to the second question, a little, but I can still do it. And, it's painful, but nothing unbearable. I walked on it too son… but it mostly got lodged in muscle; it didn't hit any important arteries, and didn't get stuck in my bone, which is good. I'm just looking forward to keeping off it for a couple of days."

"I'll drive then," I said, holding out my hand for the keys, he dropped them into my hand without a compliant, "How did you find me, anyway?"

He smirked, "It's a long story."

"Does it involve vodka?"

We approached a dark blue Volvo, Dimitri got in the passenger side, "As a matter of fact, it does,"

I turned on the car, and started down the street in the direction he pointed out, after a moment, I smiled,

"Well then, you have a lot to tell me," I said at last.


	14. With You Forever

**.****A.N: Hey Guys!**

**Yes, too those of you who answered the "What song is it?" question, the song (which I'm naming the chapters after) is indeed "Your Guardian Angel" by "the Red Jumpsuit Apparels" I love the song, and it fit so well to Rose and Dimitri, I couldn't help but use it for chapter titles. The people who guessed it were **ChristAineXtine**and **TheBadassRoza**and they both got their promised experts of the sequel. I hope you guys liked it, and thanks so much to everyone for their reviews!**

**There will be one more update before Friday, and none on Saturday, since I'm going away for the weekend, and won't be able to write it. **

**As a reminder: there is an M-rated scene in this chapter. If you don't want to read it, stop reading when Rose says, **"Don't be,"** and start reading again when Rose says, **"I love you too, so much it hurts," **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! **

**Take care, **

**RozaRedbird **

Until the Last Rose Dies

Chapter 14: With You Forever

**M RATED**

We arrived at the Belikov's house around noon. I never thought I would be so grateful to see a house in my life. Dimitri got out of the car, came around, and opened my door; I smiled as he helped me out of the car. As I rose, I stood on my tiptoes, and pressed my lips to his. I was safe. Our baby was safe. When I pulled back, I inspected his face with my eyes, dropping them; I took his hand in my own.

"Your family will be so angry with me," I said,

"No they won't… Sonya might… but that's because… she's Sonya," He sighed, "None of the others will be, I promise."

"But—"

"Roza," He said firmly, making me look up at him, "They aren't angry with you. Neither am I. We understand why you left. It was stupid, but understandable."

"I don't understand it," I admitted.

He smiled, "Come on,"

We walked up the pathway, and opened the door. It was really a lot like when we'd first arrived about a month ago. His family hugged—or more appropriately attacked- us from all sides.

"Thank goodness you both are alright!" Olena exclaimed, hugging me, "I was worried sick!"

It seemed surreal to me, that it had only been three days since I'd found out I was pregnant. It seemed as if years had passed. Looking up at Dimitri, I realized how the entire year we'd know each other had seemed like a lifetime. A year. We'd known each other a year, and yet, we'd lived a lifetime in a year.

"I am so glad you both are well," Karolina said, hugging Dimitri, "I was—"

"I don't see why you would be," a chilling voice said.

Seven pairs of eyes turned towards the stairs. Sonya stood there, holding Anya. Her expression looked like she was sucking on a lemon. Her brown eyes that echoed Dimitri's glared at me with such hatred, if looks could have killed, I would have been long gone.

"Sonya…" Olena warned, Sonya started walking down the stairs.

"No, Mama, you listen," She said, "This… girl… has done nothing but endanger Dimka's life—"

"Sonya, she _saved_ my life," Dimitri said coolly, "If she hadn't run back into the—"

"No, she didn't." Sonya answered, "All she wants to do is hurt you. She _left_ you,"

"If she hadn't run back into the cave when the school was attacked. I would be dead, or worse, Strigoi." He said firmly,

"If she hadn't been there, if you hadn't been so bewitched by her, you wouldn't have been as distracted as to been grabbed by the Strigoi. Your face wouldn't be marred!"

Dimitri's jaw clenched, he hissed something in Russian to her, to the rest of the family, he said simply,

"We'll be upstairs,"

He steered me upstairs, and to his room, slamming the door behind him, he smashed his fist against the lamp, it fell to the floor and smashed, I backed up against the wall, frightened. For a few seconds, I watched as things broke, and fell to the floor, books, clothes, anything that could be pushed or smashed.

He fought to stay in control. Just like I did. He had brought me back when I'd lost control; he was the only person who could have done it. I realized then, and I was the only person who could help him find control.

I jumped up and grabbed his arm,

"Stop!"

He paid me no notice,

"Dimitri, stop! You're scaring me! Stop!" I begged, "You're scaring me! STOP!"

A photo fell to the floor, and smashed, he banged his fists against the wall, flattening his palms against the wall. I slowly wrapped my arms around him from behind. I stroked his taunt stomach, his breathing was ragged. His body shook with sobs. It made my heart clench to see him so undone like this, so exposed.

"Shh… shh…" I murmured,

"I… I'm sorry…" He gasped.

"Don't be." I told him,

He turned, wrapping his arms around me, our lips met in a long kiss. He pressed me down on the bed. Looming over me, his fingers applied steady, hard pressure as they moved down my sides, rubbing small circles in my back. I gasped at the feelings that threatened to drown me, and nuzzled my head into his neck, kissing it, and sucking it until a round, red spot appeared, and even then, I didn't stop. Only when he pulled away, kissing from my mouth, my entire face, before he found my mouth again, he trailed down my face, to my mouth again, his tongue gliding in and out, before he preceded down my body, he kissed my neck, exploring it, before he moved down to my breasts.

He prodded and rubbed them gently with his fingers, before he moved his mouth down, kissing around my nipple until the cloth was so wet it stuck to my erect nipples, I sat up so he could pull the shirt off me, and he did in one fluid motion. The bra I wore came next; it was only his mouth, his fingers against my hot skin. If I'd wanted to speak, I wouldn't have been able too. His mouth soon left my breasts, and trailed down my still flat stomach,

"I love you," He murmured, kissing my stomach, "So, so much. You and your Mother."

His words brought tears to my eyes, he moved down to my jeans, and undid them, slipping them down, he moved off me, standing up, and pulling them off me, he tossed them onto the floor, and pulled off his shirt, before he loomed over me again, kissing through my sheer panties, making me even more wet then I already was. He ripped them off, and this time, I didn't say anything. He laid his head in the crook of my neck. His hand moved between my thighs, stroking and prodding my burning center, before he finally pushed two fingers inside of me.

I gasped at the contact. I felt him smile against my neck, but, as he found a special point, and kept stroking it, bringing me closer and closer to my climax everything but the pleasure his fingers gave me disappeared, I cried out, not caring who heard. I was so close—

Ah! The cord snapped, I screamed, I was practically withering below him. His tongue replaced his fingers, licking, and stroking my burning center, drinking my juices, to his content. I screamed his name, begging him to stop, even as he made me come again.

It still wasn't enough.

I needed him inside me. I did so badly, but I also needed to please him, see him give into his own pleasure. I pulled away, we rolled over, so I was on top, my fingers pulled away his belt and fumbled with the clasping, I pushed them down to his ankles, and with a flick, he pushed them off. My hand moved to his boxers, and rubbed the hard budge there, I pulled them away, and smiled, I reached down and licked his member, moving down the length of it before I finally took as much as I could manage in my mouth, with my hands, I massaged his balls, and the part of his member I couldn't fit into my mouth. He gasped in pleasure,

"Don't… don't stop…" He gasped, his hands gripping my face so hard his nails practically dug in.

I didn't. A few minutes later, he cried out, pulling my head back with his hands, so he came partly in my mouth, and partly on top of me, leaving my breasts wet and sticky. I moved back to his big throbbing member, drinking him up until I felt full to the brim.

Moving on all fours, I loomed above him, positioning him right below my center. As I moved lower, his tip inside of me, he leaned forward and bit my nipple, causing me to cry in pleasure; I hadn't known this level of pleasure was humanly possible. Gasping, I stopped moving slowly, and just fell, taking him in full length. I moved up and down, ridding him as fast I could muster. His hips moved up to meet me. We were both caught up in our own pleasure, hardly able to contain ourselves.

We came at the same time, I screamed his name, he didn't say anything, but held himself still, and let a small moan escape through his lips as he released his seed into me, before relaxing into the bed, trembling with the force of his orgasm.

I fell beside him.

"Wow."

"Turn around, all fours." He gasped.

Not quite understanding, but trusting him, I did what he wanted me too. He reached behind me, positioning his hips behind me, and thrusting himself inside of me. I gasped, he moved in and out in slow strokes, but, as he came closer to his climax, those thrusts became more forceful, plunging me forward, I wasn't complaining.

Someone was making a lot of noise, I realized vaguely, focused on my own pleasure, and then, with a shock, I realized it was me. His hands on my hips, his heavy breathing, everything was so real, so _now_.

Suddenly I screamed louder then I had ever heard, Dimitri followed in pursuit, yelling my name, then, I felt his member throbbing inside me, and me pulsing around him, the bliss spread in fast moving waves over my body, I closed my eyes, relishing the feel of us, together, as one, bliss, slowly, it faded, after it was completely gone, he kept himself inside of me for a few more moments, I relished it, I relished being this close to him, slowly, he moved out of me, he fell beside me, taking me in his arms.

Dimitri kissed me, leaning his forehead against mine.

"I love you," He murmured, "I love you,"

"I love you too," I whispered, "So much that it hurts,"

"You where partly right," He murmured, kissing my forehead, "You are an angel,"

"With a cold sandwich," I added, he laughed,

"I love you, Roza," He said, smiling.

We lay together for a couple hours after that, dozing, content to stay entwined in each other's warmth. But, as the haze began to wear off, I realized how loud we'd really been. There was no doubt that his family had heard us. A heat worked its way into my cheeks; I nuzzled into Dimitri's chest, wishing literally that I could stay there forever.

"What?" Dimitri smirked, looking down at me.

"We…were… loud."

He considered, "Yes. Your point?"

Maybe I wouldn't have to face his family again. "When are we going back to the US?"

"In two days," He paused, "And no… we can't—won't escape in the middle of the night, like you want to."

"How…?" I asked, he sat up, slowly moving his legs over the side of the bed; one of them had a bandage on them, not a cloth wrap around one, but a hospital like, huge band-aid. I felt convinced that he getting shot was my fault.

"Because I _know_ you," He answered, "And I know what you'll do to avoid awkward situations,"

He dressed, choosing a dark blue button up shirt, with a collar just high enough to cover the red circle on his neck, and threw on a pair of jeans. I stayed curled up in the sheets… my heart was pounding. Facing his family after that… just seemed... awkward. More then awkward. Would they hate me? Dimitri leaned over me; his lose hair hanging around his face, his hands on either side of my head.

"Are you really that nervous?" He asked, "About facing them?"

"Yes."

"Rose," He said firmly, "Don't be. None of them are going to mention it. They aren't stupid, they know I have sex. They know we do. Calm down. It isn't a scandal." He paused again, "And… no offense to my family… but, at one point… except for possibly Viktoria, and I still don't know how far her and Rolan went, and believe me, I don't want too—everyone, except for people below seventeen, have been a Blood Whore at one point, or another. That job description involves sex. Don't worry. _Nobody_ cares."

Slowly, I nodded, "Yeah…"

He kissed me, "Don't worry,"

I nodded, and got up and dressed. We made our way downstairs, Dimitri, still sensing my unease, rubbed circles in the back of my hand with his thumb. We walked casually into the living room. Sonya was nowhere to be seen. A pan of brownies sat on the table, and Viktoria and Paul sat in armchairs, watching _Monsters VS Aliens_. I smiled, upon seeing us, Viktoria smiled,

"Want me to turn it to English subtitles?"

"Sure, thanks," I smiled, as Dimitri sank into the sofa, pulling me with him.

We watched the rest of the movie. My awkwardness slowly faded as the evening wore on. I was home, I was safe, Dimitri loved me. Nothing could possibly change. Later, we walked back up to the bedroom, undressing, and falling into the bed, curled up together, my back to him, his arms around me from behind, we were both tired. It was hard to believe that we had been battling Strigoi that morning, or that I'd been held captive by Strigoi for the past few days.

"Dimitri…?" I mumbled,

"Hmm?"

"You know that dream I had on the plane?" I asked, "The one about… Iris?"

"Don't believe that every dream you have tells the future, Rose, we don't even know if it's a girl or a boy," He murmured, "I can't imagine how we'd get in that situation anyway… and if we did, why would be take our child with us?"

"I don't know," I admitted, "Which one do you want? A boy or a girl? What do you want to name them? Should we find out what they are before they're born?"

He chucked, "One at a time, Roza, one at a time. I couldn't care less which one we have. I don't really want to find out. If it was a girl, I'd like to name her after you, and if it's a boy… something like Andrew maybe? Or would you rather that they have a Russian name?"

"I don't know. If it's a boy, I think a Russian name would be cool. Wouldn't it be weird for us to name it Rosemarie?" I asked, "You'd always be getting us mixed up."

He wrapped his arms tighter around me, "I don't think I would. There would be a profound difference between you, and our baby. For starters, it would be half me, which… would lesson it's…"

"Rose-ness?" I suggested,

"That sounds a little harsh… but yes, it won't be exactly like you. And, even if they look just like you, I couldn't mix you two up. I highly doubt I'm creepy enough to do what we did this afternoon, with our child. I would be able to tell the difference, believe me,"

"Wait, by name it after me, what did you mean? Like name it Roza?"

"If it's a boy that might be a little strange, but, kind of, I was thinking spelling it with an 's' instead of a 'z', not that the way to pronounce it is much different,"

"Rosa… Rosa…" I murmured, "Hey, what about Rosalie?"

"Isn't that a Vampire?" He sounded sceptical.

"Yeah." I admitted, "It might sound cheesy, but I like it, and it would be named after me, in a way,"

"My two roses'," Dimitri said, fondly, "I like that idea,"

"What will her middle name be?"

"Why not Iris?" He asked,

"Yeah… I don't really like that idea… it reminds me of that dream… what about Vasilisa?"

"Rosalie Vasilisa Belikov,"

"I like that," I said,

"I do too," Dimitri answered, even though I couldn't see his face, I knew he was smiling.

"And if it's a boy…?" I asked, "What would we name it then?"

"Hmm."

"Demetrious?" I suggested,

"Anything, but that," Dimitri laughed, "What about Hedeon?"

"Hedeon… I actually like that name, does it have a meaning in Russian,"

"Destroyer is the closest English translation." Dimitri said,

"Hedeon Belikov," I whispered, "It does have a nice ring to it,"

"Hedeon… Belikov," He said, "Are we going to neglect giving him a middle name?"

"Dimitri,"

"What?"

I laughed, "No, I mean, his middle name should be Dimitri, so his name is Hedeon Dimitri Belikov,"

"Hmm… so he's 'kind of' named after me?" Dimitri said,

"Yeah. Kind of."

"Hedeon it is," Dimitri said, placing a hand on my stomach, "I love you, Roza, and the child inside of you,"

"Me too," I murmured, putting my hand over his, "I love you,"

"Mmm… goodnight, Roza," He mumbled, half asleep already.

I didn't answer, but leaned against him, relishing again at how well his body fit around mine. Victor Dashkov had once called us a 'Match made in heaven' and, for once, I had no doubt that he was right.


	15. I'll Be There

**.A.N: Hey Guys!**

**I have awesome news, my version of Last Sacrifice: '**_One Last Time for You'_** will be out on its original date! This means, that the sequel to Until the Last Rose Dies will be out on July 23rd!**

**If you guys haven't noticed, look on my avatar. Yes, guys, it is the cover for Until the Last Rose Dies. I was bored one day, so I made it. You can't see it very well, and LiveJournal won't let me upload it right now. I'll sort it out, and get the bigger version up when I can!**

**The picture might not show up yet—it takes awhile for it to be changed on the website! **

**Thank you all for the reviews!**

**RozaRedbird**

Until the Last Rose Dies

Chapter 15: I'll Be There

"Attention ladies and gentleman, we will be landing in Harrisburg International Airport in twenty minutes, please buckle up your seatbelts, and prepare for landing, thank you,"

I leaned my head against Dimitri's shoulder. Being a month pregnant, and being on planes—for me, didn't mix well. I hadn't been sick, but I'd been nauseated in a non Strigoi way for the entire flight. Dimitri put a hand to my hair, and kissed my head,

"We'll be home soon, Roza," He promised, "I know you've missed it,"

I nodded, "Yeah. I'll just be glad when the plane lands. But yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing Lissa… how does she know, by the way?"

"Know what?" Dimitri asked,

"That I'm pregnant,"

"Oh, I told her,"

I glanced at him, "You… what? When did you talk to her?"

"The morning after you left," He said matter-of-factly, "And to be honest, she thought it was pretty stupid of you to be running around Russia—pregnant, alone. I can't say I don't agree with her,"

I smiled up at him, "I do stupid things. You don't keep me around for my brains,"

"You are a force to be reckoned with Rose, like your Mother, that's why I keep you around," He smiled, and then winced,

I furrowed my eyebrows, "What? Are you in labour?"

"No," He gave me a weird look, "I just have the feeling that when your Mother finds out about your pregnancy, she won't have very nice things to say to me,"

"Ah, I'll make sure I'm there, when she decides to beat the crap out of you," I paused, "Besides, my Dad took it pretty well."

"That's because he already threatened me, and I know what he'll do to me if I ever hurt you, not that I was planning on it,"

"Yeah… what did he say he'd do?" I asked,

He shuddered, "I don't want to talk about it,"

He returned to his battered western novel, which I could have sworn he'd already read twenty times before. And, twenty minutes later the plane landed in Pennsylvania.

We made our way through customs, and got our suitcases. I was back in the US. I was home. Relief filled me; Dimitri seemed to notice it, as we walked through the customs, people were waiting for their family members, but assuming that a Court car would be waiting for us, I started towards the door,

"Um… Rose, this way," Dimitri said, gesturing off to my left, "They're waiting for us,"

I turned in the direction he pointed out, and to my surprise, saw Eddie—Adrian's new Guardian, Adrian, Christian, and Lissa waving at us, pulling my suitcase, I quickly walked over to them.

My arms reached Lissa first, and I hugged her tightly, I hadn't realized how much I had missed her, all the resentment I'd held towards her in the past year had disappeared, as had her resentment over me choosing Dimitri over her. We were finally able to be the best friends we were.

"I missed you Rose!" She whispered in my ears, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean what I said… I'm so sorry!"

"Its fine, I understand," I said, pulling back, "I missed you too, Lissa,"

She hugged Dimitri too,

"Thank you," She told him, "For finding my best friend, thank you so much,"

"Your Welcome," He smiled, glancing at me, "I don't know what I'm going to do with a mini version of her,"

"That reminds me, congratulations!" She said, hugging both of us in one go, "I'm so happy for both of you!"

I laughed, "Thanks, Liss,"

I hugged Eddie, who was smiling broadly, hugged me. He noticed my engagement ring, and smiled,

"I knew you two would work it out," He whispered, "Congratulations, on both things,"

Adrian moved forward, "I don't get a hug?"

"Yeah. You do," I said, hugging him, "I missed you,"

"I did too, Little Dhampir," He said, "Don't go running off again, I don't think I could take it again."

"You act like your heart was broken over it," Dimitri laughed, as we started for the car,

"I was." Adrian said, "Mia told me she didn't—"

"Wait, Mia?"

He nodded, "We've been dating for about three weeks,"

"Wow. That's a surprise. I'm going to kind of miss your unwanted harassment," I commented, "Hey, can I drive?"

Eddie looked at me, "You've been on a plane for twelve hours, and you want to drive?"

"Yeah, I haven't driven in a long time,"

Dimitri looked at me strangely, "You drove two days ago when we got back from Novosibirsk. Two days isn't a long time."

I held my arms up in defeat, "Hey, hey there's no need to gang up on me. I never did anything too you,"

Dimitri choked on a laugh, "You're tired, and you aren't driving,"

"Then can I sit next to you?" I asked, pouting, "If you won't let me drive,"

"Yes, you can," He smiled, putting an arm around me,

We got into the van, after reselling our suitcases into the back. After some pushing and shoving, we all managed to find seats. I did end up next to Dimitri, and on my other side was Christian. Eddie drove, but seemed more relaxed, now that there were two Guardians in the car who could take on anything—and one who was trained, but also needed to be careful, or in other words, me. If we were attacked, I would have to keep out of the way, I wouldn't be able to handle losing the child, and neither would Dimitri. We had already put too much effort into saving it to let it go.

And regardless—it was our baby. Ours.

"Hey," Said Lissa, breaking the silence, "When were you two planning on having the wedding?"

I looked at her, "What?"

"Oh come on," She said, smiling, "You don't think I didn't notice the ring on your finger, did you?"

"I guess," I laughed,

"So, when are you thinking of having it?" She pressed.

I looked up at Dimitri. We had been so emerged in talking about Hedeon—or Rosalie- that wedding plans had completely fallen through our heads. He was carefully avoiding my eyes, signalling that he did not want to take part in where this conversation was going.

"Um… you know, we hadn't actually thought about it," I said, pulling my eyes away from Dimitri.

"Haven't thought about it?" Lissa asked, and groaned, "Of course, a wedding, and Rose doesn't think about it, even though it's her wedding."

I smiled sheepishly, "Well… when would be a good time?"

"That depends," Lissa answered, "Do you want to get married _before_ the baby gets here, or afterwards?"

"Before," I answered, after a moment's thought.

"Hmm…" Dimitri mused aloud, "I didn't think you really cared about the idea of having an illegitimate or legitimate child."

"I'm not," I answered, "I only don't want to wait for a long time after the baby's born to get married, I mean, think about it, Dimitri, I don't really want to show up at my wedding with bags under my eyes, because I was up at three AM changing the baby,"

"That makes more sense then your thought," Christian commented, "All girls must look pretty on their wedding day, or you will have hell to pay for it,"

Lissa turned around in her seat—since she sat in the row in front of us—"And you, Lord Ozera would know what about a woman's innermost thoughts?"

"Plenty," He paused, "If I was one myself."

"Which your not,"

"And you would know this how?"

They playfully battered on; I turned to Dimitri, "Are we as bad as that?"

"Worse, I'm sure," He said with certainty.

I groaned, and buried my head in his shoulder, listening to Lissa and Christian's bickering,

"Therefore, you don't know the innermost thoughts of a woman,"

"I never said I did, I only said that she would be angry if she looked back on her wedding day, and thought she looked ugly,"

"Would you think I would do that?"

"Yes."

It went on, and on. They were laughing, and all of us stared out the windows, trying to ignore them. At last, we came to the gates of Court. We drove through the wide metal doors, and parked, and got out of the car.

It was beautiful, I couldn't deny that.

However, upon arriving, the last thing I wanted to happen happened. A man, ran up to me,

"Guardian Hathaway, Guardian Belikov, the Queen would like to see you immediately,"

Lissa looked at us strangely, and shrugged, unsure of why the Queen wanted us. Dimitri nodded curtly to the man,

"We'll make our way there at once, thank you, Guardian Tanner,"

The Guardian nodded, and walked away. We told the other's we'd meet them in their rooms later, and Dimitri started leading me towards the Queen's buildings. As we entered the building, which held her office—I had been here once before when she told me to stay away from Adrian, and of the plan to marry him and Lissa, and didn't know my way around, but Dimitri obviously did. He walked swiftly down corridors, turning sharply, climbing stairs; he was in full Guardian mode,

"How do you know your way around here so well?"

"When you know Ivan Zeklos, you begin to learn your way around a lot of places, Roza,"

"Oh." I never mentioned Ivan or what he had done during his job as a Guardian to Ivan, he didn't like to talk about it, and I wasn't going to make him, "Wow."

We were on the right floor now, Dimitri held out his hand, "Give me your engagement ring,"

"What?"

"The Queen doesn't know anything about us," He murmured, keeping his voice low, since there were others in the hall, "And I want it to stay that way. She has far to many connections, she could easily have me assigned to Prince Edwin, I already basically quit when I filled in your Removal Form. That's probably what she wants to see us about."

"Good point," I answered, taking off my ring, and handing it to Dimitri, who put it in his pocket. He did have a point, Dimitri had basically quit for both of us over the phone and internet the day before.

As we neared the Office, Dimitri continued, "Act professional. Teacher and student, pretend I'm Stan if you have to, do not give away any clues whatsoever. She is very perceptive. She will probably ask for your reason for dropping out, tell her the real reason, and claim it was some guy in a nightclub in Russia. I don't care, Christian, whatever. If she learns the truth, she'll have all sorts of tests done on it,"

I nodded. I was a good liar when I had to be.

Dimitri paused, and spoke to the Guardian, who walked into the room, and spoke to the Queen. After a few moments' silence, he came back out,

"The Queen will see you now," He said,

Dimitri and I nodded, the doors were opened as we approached them, and lead into sort of an entry way. Another set of double doors were opened by two Guards, while another spoke,

"Guardians Dimitri Belikov and Rosemarie Hathaway,"

The Queen, now in view, nodded, "Thank you,"

The Guardian nodded, and the doors closed. At once, Dimitri bowed, and I dipped down, I wasn't going to go into a proper curtsy, it was the twenty first century. It pleased the Queen anyway. When we rose, the Queen looked at us for several moments before she finally nodded,

"Please sit,"

Dimitri nodded, "Thank you, Your Majesty,"

I murmured the same thing, as we took our seats in the plush chairs in front of her desk.

Another long silence followed.

"Well, well," Tatiana finally spoke, "I have received notice that both of you wish to stop Guarding Princess Dragomir, and do not wish to Guard anyone else. In such form, meaning, you wish to 'quit' being Guardians,"

Wow. Dimitri had been spot on.

"We do, your Majesty," Dimitri answered, "It was a very hard decision,"

"What brought it about?"

"I find that I have been damaged by the Strigoi attack on the school," Dimitri lied smoothly in his low, accented voice, "I find to my deepest shame and horror that I am no longer at ease to sacrifice myself for Moroi. It is my deepest regret, your Majesty, but I must give up my post, for the safety of Guardians. They do not want a non fully dedicated Guardian working,"

She looked sceptical, but did not ask him any more questions.

"You, Guardian Hathaway have gone to Russia with your Mentor to learn advanced fighting, for guarding, and come back unwilling to for fill a job you have not even started, do explain to me why,"

"I'm pregnant," I told her, looking her directly in the eye.

Her face brightened into a mean smirk, "Guardian Hathaway, do tell me, who is the Father? My nephew, perhaps?"

I was surprised Dimitri didn't attack her on the spot.

"No…" I answered, "Its some Moroi guy I met in a club in Russia." I shrugged, "Can't remember his name,"

The Queen looked at me in disgust, before she finally spoke.

"Of course reproducing is always good for the Dhampir race,"

"Indeed, after all, you have your own man whore," I snapped, "After all; I didn't have to _hire_ anyone to have sex with me,"

It took me a moment for me to realize I'd said that out loud, Dimitri stared at me in horror; the Queen's lips were pursed.

Oh no.

I was in deep shit. Very deep shit.


	16. Seasons are Changing

**.A.N: Hey Guys**

**First: One Last Time for You is up! There won't be many updates, until I finish this story, but I'd been babbling about it so much in my AN's lately, that I decided to just shut up, and post it. So, if you go on my profile, you'll be able to find it. **

**Thank you all so much for the reviews!**

**RozaRedbird**

Until the Last Rose Dies

Chapter 16: Seasons are Changing

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," The Queen said after several moments' of silence.

"Yeah, I think I do. I met him, Ambrose? That's his name. He said he slept in an awesome bed. I was only wondering if I could have a mattress just like it,"

It was then, that I realized I had said the worst thing possible in this situation.

Several horrible seconds of silence passed. The Queen's gaze on me was growing steadily darker. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dimitri looking at me in horror. He knew that I didn't like the Queen—but, he hadn't expected such a steady dislike. I wanted to speak, but, I realized that wouldn't help. The only thing that would help would be a rewind button.

"You are dismissed, Miss. Hathaway," the Queen said stonily, before nodding to Dimitri, "I thank you for your concern, Guardian Belikov, you were—are of great talent, you will be missed greatly."

Dimitri stood up and bowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty,"

I didn't bow or curtsy or whatever, I turned on my heel and walked out. The doors opened before I'd even reached them, and soon, I was practically gliding down the hallway.

Dimitri kept up with me easily.

He stayed silent, as we entered the elevator, he didn't say a word. He pressed 'G' and leaned back.

"So… you think I did well in there?" I asked hesitantly.

"Be quiet," He snapped, he was my instructor now.

I didn't answer, and there was no need to. Oh no, I thought, I've really done it. Dimitri was angry with me, which was clear from his tone, his posture, and the angry glint in his eye. I leaned into the corner of the elevator, trying to obscure myself.

When the door opened, Dimitri walked out, and I followed behind. I really wasn't looking forward to what he was about to say to me. We walked out of the building, and into the cool night. A little ways away from the building, Dimitri grasped my arm, and pulled me off to the side.

"What on earth were you thinking?" He hissed,

"She called me a blood whore," I objected, upset, I put a hand on my hip, shaking off his hand, "Anyway, it's true, she has her own personal blood whore. According to him he has a pretty nice bed,"

Dimitri only glared, "You do not speak to royal Moroi like that, and certainly not the Queen, what is wrong with you?"

"Why are you telling me how to act?" I asked, "Aren't you into equal relationships and all of that shit?"

"Obviously, yes," He answered, "But you're being a child. You're lucky to have gotten out of that as well as you did. The Queen had a right to exile you,"

"Oh, so I'm a child now, am I?" I asked, ignoring his later comment, "You never seem to think that when you're all over me,"

"And how many times have you used that quip on me?" He snapped, crossing his arms,

"Well, its true," I pointed out, "You never seem to think I'm a child when you're all over me, but the minute I do something you don't approve of, bam! I'm a child again."

He was shaking he was so angry. He turned on his heel without another word to me, and left. It took me a few minutes before I could move, and when I did, I turned in the opposite direction he had gone. Tears were already streaming down my face as I turned.

Running off to a woodland area, which I didn't even know court had—I sank down by a tree and sobbed, bitter throwing sobs seized my body. I had just ruined it. I cried and cried, unsure what I was thinking. Finally, my tears dried, and I leaned up against the tree.

Just as I got the feeling somebody was watching me.

I whipped around, and saw Dimitri leaning up against a tree. Turning around more slowly, I looked back towards the woods. Trying to pretend he wasn't here. I didn't want to talk to him. After a few moments of silence, it registered that he wasn't going to say anything either. Well, we would have to talk to each other eventually. Sighing with defeat, I mumbled,

"Hey,"

"Hello," He answered his voice just as quiet as mine.

We fell silent again.

"Rose," He said slowly after a long moment of silence, I turned to face him, "You annoy me, and scare me when you act so immature, I know you, I know mean sarcastic quips and inappropriate comments aren't you. You have so much more to offer, using those two things, just… is low. It shows that you have nothing else to work with, when… you do,"

"I-I'm sorry," I said, looking away, "It's just…"

"Just what?" His tone was gentler now.

"I'm going to miss out on all of it, I don't have the life experience for a baby, and I'm not ready…"

"That's what your Mother said," Dimitri recalled, "You weren't then, but… that was before you killed Isaiah and Elena… before… before so much happened. You… I've only known you a year, but in that year… I've watched you… six months, in six months… you've lived a lifetime, we've lived a lifetime,"

I nodded, "Yeah…"

"Believe me, Roza…" He murmured, no longer angry, "You… you will be the most amazing Mother anyone could have,"

I stood up, "Well… I have to go now."

He caught my arm, "Without me?"

I glanced back at him, "No… never without you,"

He moved slowly, so he stood before me.

"I don't think I ever gave you this back," He murmured, holding up his hand, in his fingers was my ring, slowly, he slipped it back on. He kissed my forehead, "I love you, Roza,"

I wrapped my arms tightly around him, suddenly feeling the urge to cry again, his strong arms wrapped around me too, I was tightly pressed against him. I wanted to stay like that forever. After a long time, he gently pulled away.

"I'm sorry," I said again,

"You're only Human," He murmured, his eyes lit up with humour, "Or half-Human, rather,"

We made our way to the guest housing, and got our room key and number. We walked upstairs, and unpacked. Picking up a Western Novel, Dimitri sat in a chair, reading it. I sat across from him on one of the two beds; I lay back, and stared at the ceiling. A long silence followed.

Then suddenly—he was on me, kissing me ferociously, I responded to it hardly, electricity burning in my veins. He pulled away and smiled, his breathing heavy, his hair hanging around his face,

"Sorry," He said, a devilish smile crossing his face, "I just had to do that. You were so unsuspecting."

"Bad for a Guardian," I commented, sitting up,

"Nah. You've only beaten me once; it will take awhile to get to it regularly,"

Something about his playfulness and expression reminded me of Mason. A sharp pain tore through me at the thought. I knew he had passed onto 'better things' but, it still hurt to think about him. Dimitri noticed my sudden change of mood, and pulled me into his lap, brushing a spare piece of hair away.

"What's wrong?" He murmured,

I leaned against him, taking comfort in his warmth, "Mason. He paused for a second… didn't listen to me… let… let his feelings for me get in the way. I never even gave him a chance."

"Shh…" He murmured, "It was his choice… it probably wasn't the best one, but… I can understand perfectly why he did it."

"Why?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Because he loved you, he decided that your life was more important than his. Regardless of your feelings for him…" He sighed, "You're blessed, Rose, so many people love you enough to die for you.

"You do too," I whispered, touching his face, feeling a little like Bella proclaiming desperate undying love for Edward, "I would die… if it was for you,"

He caressed my face wordlessly, and brought my hand to his heart, below my fingertips, I felt the steady beating, and each beat was heaven for me. We were finally safe. Finally together.

"Thank you," He whispered, finally.

I don't know how long we sat like that, unmoving (oh shit; now I'm even quoting from_ Twilight_. Somebody shoot me). Finally, Dimitri shifted so we lay together on the bed, he kissed my forehead,

"Dimitri?" I asked quietly, nuzzling my head in his shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"Rather then Hedeon… if the baby is a boy, can we name him Mason?" I said, "It seems like fair enough pay for him. Or, it's as much as I can give him, now,"

He nodded, and kissed me, "Whatever you wish, my Roza,"

"Thank you," I murmured.

A silence followed.

"What should we do?" Dimitri asked at last. "Where do you want to live?"

"How about… Baltimore?" I suggested, "By the waterfront?"

He nodded, "I like that idea. Its close enough to visit court often enough,"

"And its also private enough," I volunteered, "We'll be able to live our lives without Royals looking over our shoulders."

"You know what I love about you, Roza?" Dimitri asked,

"What?"

"You are completely brilliant," He answered.

RDRDRDR

_Two months later:_

"How far along are you?"

"Roughly three months," I paused, "My due date is March third,"

The nurse nodded, and wrote something down, "That is long enough to be able to work with the Ultra Sound. Have you felt it kick?"

"Um…" I said, "I'm not entirely sure. I've felt something that feels like small bubbles popping in my womb… but… is that it?"

The nurse nodded, "I'm sure it is. This is great; everything is just as it should be. You'll be able to feel more, nudge like feelings as your pregnancy goes on. But for now, that's what I expect."

I breathed a sigh of relief, "Good,"

"I'll just go get the Ultra Sound now." She said, smiling, "Just a second."

She left the room, and I turned my eyes anxiously to Dimitri, who sat in a chair, smiling broadly at me. My hands played anxiously with each other, before stroking the small, but noticeable bump on my abdomen. The Ultra Sound, the big moment. My heart was pounding, this was when we would find out if everything was alright, and… see our baby. The thought made my heart leap. My baby, our baby, my beloved Mason.

I was sure it was a boy. I was sure it would be, my beautiful little Mason, he would be half Dimitri, and half me, something we had barely believed to think was possible. He would have the best Father humanly possible to have, and the best. He would grow up by the waterfront, playing there in summer, learning how to fish with Dimitri, with me watching and taking photos. The idea brought tears to my eyes. Our baby, our little boy.

The weekend after we had arrived back in the US, me and Dimitri had taken a train down to Baltimore, and had gone house hunting. On Sunday, we had found it. It was a perfect little apartment, with three bedrooms (one of them would serve as an office) a balcony with a spectacular view of the waterfront, a living room, and a wonderful kitchen. The kitchen had caught me, as had the view. Dimitri had agreed with me, and we had made a deal with the real-estate agent at once.

We had moved in three weeks later, sleeping on two sleeping bags in the master bedroom, until we'd been able to furnish it.

I loved my life. Wedding plans were coming together nicely, and we had a date set for December tenth—in perfect time for Christmas. I had the perfect dress (found by Viktoria, one of my two bridesmaids) Abe had agreed to walk me down the aisle—much to his surprise, and all of Dimitri's family (including his two groomsmen) would be coming over for the wedding. Excitement soared in my chest—as it often did when I thought of the upcoming wedding. A wedding in three months' time, in three months I would be married to Dimitri. I could hardly believe it.

Watching Dimitri now, I realized he looked very tired. He'd been doing a lot of driving in the past few days, up to court and back down, only to rush here, as we realized what day it was.

At least my Guardian status wouldn't be wasted.

The day before, at Court, had been the naming ceremony, were the Monarch would name their heir, even if they weren't about to drop dead. Naturally, Dimitri and I had been there, but, had stayed well out of the sight of the Queen—yeast she decide to call me up on my behaviour in her office a few months before. Everyone had expected Prince Edwin Drozdov—the same man who had requested Dimitri- to be named heir.

Despite her status, nobody had expected Lissa to be.

Yet, she had been. Once Tatiana died, Lissa was the legal heir to the throne, in her long speech, which Dimitri summarized for me later, since I didn't have a long enough attention span for the entire thing, Tatiana had chosen Lissa for her… leadership, as well as her family, and despite the fact that she had no quorum (I had no idea what the hell that was) would be named heir. It hadn't been questioned; it seemed to me, like everyone wanted the last Dragomir on the throne.

Because of this, she was able to chose her Guardians, and during the reception had begged me and Dimitri to become her Guardians when she became Queen—the Guardians who went with her everywhere, the ones who helped her rule. The most important Guardians on the face of the earth.

Since the Queens' Guard was walking death, the chances of me or Dimitri being directly confronted in a fight were very small. The chances of a Strigoi even getting to the Queen were tiny. We agreed, Tatiana had a lot of life in her—even I had to admit that, and our children would be well into their teen years before we would become Lissa's Guardians, like had always been planned.

My attention snapped back to the small Doctor's Office in Mercy Hospital, as the nurse came back in, wheeling something that looked like a television set. Sensing my sudden renewed distress—I was constantly worried that something would be wrong—despite the fact that I knew nothing wasn't—took my hand in his own.

"Ms. Hathaway, could you please lift your shirt so I can apply the gel to your stomach."

I did so, her gloved hands on my stomach felt unnatural, I longed to push them off, and feel only skin against it, my little baby. But I didn't, I wanted to see my baby, and if a little discomfort was what it took—it was worth it.

"Alright," She said, moving away, and putting a thing that looked a little like a mouse on my stomach, and switching something on, at first, the screen was blank, and then a blurry image appeared on the screen. "We should be able to get a clearer picture… ahh good."

My baby was there. It was a blurry picture, and I couldn't make out any real features, but I saw a creature that looked something like my baby, something like the beautiful brown haired child I imagined.

"Do you want to know the sex?" The nurse asked.

I was to overcome with emotion to respond, as though he was speaking through a think cloud, I heard Dimitri say,

"No, thank you,"

A few more things happened, the nurse pointed out the baby's feet and head—as if I couldn't see that for myself, and we asked a few more questions—before a print out of the Ultrasound pictures was printed out and given to us, and we left.

We made—or rather I made another appointment, while Dimitri waited patiently by the door, when I approached him, he held his hand out for mine, smiling at me. It was the kind of smile a man gives you, when he's pleased with life, when he's so blissful about it; he thinks that he will burst a smile he gives you when he's happy — overjoyed that you're pregnant with his child, overjoyed that you're going to become his wife.

In that moment, standing there in a crowded office, I couldn't be more amazed at the events that had lead us to this day. If one thing about our past before each other had been changed, we might not have met at all. The thought made my heart clench, but I realized that I would have found him somehow. Somehow, I would have loved him. There wasn't a thing in the world that would ever keep me away from him. Nothing stood between us. We were free to be together.

At last.


	17. Waves are Crashing

**A.N: Two Chapters, One Day**

**Well. Now you're seeing my 'Must finish story' burst. This is the wedding chapter, and there are roughly… oh, three chapters left. I think, if I continue like this (and believe me, I will) the story will be done by Friday, and my full attention will be on **_**One Last Time for You**_**.**

_**Forever Gone, Forever You**_** will be out on July 25****th****! The day before I take a three week holiday, where I go to LA, and then DC, and then come back on the RMS Queen Mary II. I'll try to post then, but I don't think I'll be able to. I'll keep you guys posted. **

**Take care,**

**RozaRedbird**

Until the Last Rose Dies

Chapter 17: Waves are Crashing

_December 10__th_

This was me, Rose Hathaway.

This was me, Rose Hathaway about to be married. While standing in front of the mirror, I couldn't help but admit that everything was perfect—Lissa wouldn't let it be anything else. My dress was ivory, hanging over my belly perfectly, it was strapless, but since it was pretty cold outside, I wore it with a short, ivory jacket that Lissa had made especially to match the dress.

I wore a rose diamond necklace—very similar to the one Victor Dashkov had given to me. Dimitri had given it to me a few weeks after the first Ultrasound, which had reminded me that it had been roughly a year—I wasn't sure of the exact date, though I could have figured it out if I wanted to, since I had met him. I was unbelieving of it. It had been only a year since Lissa and I had been on our own. No, it couldn't have been. Too much had happened. I was pregnant for God's sake; a year ago I hadn't been ready for that.

Now, I was unbelievably, sure I was.

The heels I wore were ivory too—and roughly an inch high, with my big belly (it was hard for me to believe only one baby was in there— and that it had more time to grow) I couldn't have worn anything possibly higher. My dark hair was swept off my shoulder in a magnificent bun, with the money Lissa was paying them; I shouldn't have been surprised that the staff at Elizabeth Arden did anything less. I looked beautiful.

A knock on the bathroom door sounded behind me.

"Are you done, Rose?" I heard Lissa ask through the door, "We need to go soon."

"Yeah," I called back, "Just a sec,"

I took one more fleeting glance at myself in the mirror and moved out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind me.

Lissa smiled, "You look beautiful Rose,"

I could hardly believe she was complimenting me, she was the belle here, and she wore a scarlet dress that complimented her pale skin beautifully. Her hair was swept off her shoulder in a messy bun. Her makeup was perfect.

"Thanks," I smiled, and looked around, "Um… where's Viktoria?"

"Right here," I heard a voice behind me, I turned, and saw Viktoria standing with my coat, "C'mon Rose, you don't want to get cold, or get rain on that dress,"

The weather wasn't what I imagined perfect for my wedding day, but I honestly couldn't care. Not even a snowstorm would prevent me from marrying Dimitri today. I slipped on the coat, and we left, a limo waited for us outside, and when I opened the door, I was happily surprised to see Adrian, Mia, Abe, Christian and my Mother all waiting for me.

I laughed, and slipped in next to my Mother, who hugged me, she was beaming. Despite her displeasure when Dimitri and I had told her I was pregnant, I was happy to see that it had worn off into unbelievable excitement. She was constantly talking about the baby, and had even taken a vacation to come to my wedding. Yup, my relationship with my Mother had improved.

Abe… well, me and Abe got along, and it was easy to see were I got at least half of my personality from. He had wicked dark hair, like I did, and my colour of eyes. He was the best (if not weirdest) Father anyone could ever have. Looking around the limo, as we started to pull away, I saw another interesting factor:

Adrian and Mia.

They had been dating steadily for the past five months. I had never seen Adrian happier then he was with Mia. He didn't care what people thought of him dating someone who wasn't royal. He loved her for her, and nothing else. I was so glad that he had found somebody for him… and wouldn't be lusting after me, when, my heart would only belong to one person.

The man I was marrying today. The man, who was about to be promoted to the head of the company he worked for.

The others talked to me, and amongst themselves as we travelled to the church where Dimitri and I had decided to be married (a reception would follow later at the Harbour Court Hotel). But I wasn't really in it; my hand idly stroked my stomach, my heart was pounding.

When we finally arrived at the church, Olena was waiting for us. She held a bouquet of my favourite flowers—wait for it, Schwartzwalder calla lilies—Abe went around, and helped me out of the car, helping me avoid icy patches as we made our way to the stairs, and Olena handed me the flowers, she hugged me,

"Dimka is so happy!" She whispered in my ear, "Thank you, Rose, and welcome to our family,"

I hugged her back, "And welcome to mine,"

Karolina came down, holding Zoya against her hip, "Its about to begin. Mama you should go be seated, and you Guardian Hathaway,"

Abe sealed me as we entered the church, on one side, I saw Dimitri and his two groomsmen—Vladimir, Avel, and Paul, our ring bearer, standing on one side, Vladimir took up his attention with something, so he didn't see me. I looked around, for Anni, we had invited her, and I knew she was somewhere in the seats.

I watched as my Mother sat, and heard the music start, Karolina, holding Zoya (our flower girl) started up the aisle. Paul followed in pursuit, holding the rings, and Dimitri and his groomsmen. I watched him glide up the aisle, with a graceful walk, that belonged on a runway. Smiling, he reached the alter, and turned to watch me.

I felt Abe's hand on my arm, and slowly I moved forward. One two, pause, one two, pause. The music was beautiful—played by the church's organist, but, what was more beautiful was this day. Dimitri would be forever bound to me and me to him. From this day forward, I would refer to him as my husband. The thought sent chills up my spine. I hadn't expected Lissa to be the first one to have sex. But I certainly had expected her to be the first one married.

Boy does life work in weird ways.

As we approached the alter Dimitri held out his hand for mine, beaming, Abe paused, and took my hand, and placed it in Dimitri's.

"Take care of her," He whispered.

Dimitri's brown eyes rested on my Father for a second,

"I will," He murmured.

The priest waited until our—or rather their- exchange had finished, and then turned to Abe,

"Who gives this woman to be wed?"

He stepped away from me, allowing Dimitri to help me up the few steps, to stand by him.

"I, Ibrahim Muzar," He said, and then, turned to the crowd, and sat beside my Mother.

"You look breathtaking," Dimitri whispered,

He pulled me closer to him, putting a hand on my hip, leaned down and kissed me, when he pulled away, I smiled,

"Isn't that a little early?" I whispered.

He let his eyes wander down to my belly.

"I think we're a little past that," He murmured back.

I smiled before we turned again to the priest. He smiled at us, and turned down to his book,

"We are gathered here to join the lives of Rosemarie Elizabeth Hathaway, and Dimitri Vladimir Belikov," He glanced up, his ageless eyes searching the crowd, "Is there anyone here today with a reason these two should not be wed? Speak up now, or be forever hold your silence,"

Nobody moved.

"We shall commence. Do you Dimitri Belikov; take Rosemarie Hathaway to be your lawfully wedded wife. With deepest joy you will receive her into your life that together so you both may be one. As is Christ to His body, the church, so you will be to her a loving and faithful husband. Will you always perform your headship over her even as Christ does over me, knowing that His Lordship is one of the holiest desires for your life? Do you promise her your deepest love, your fullest devotion, your tenderest care? Do you promise that you will live first unto God rather than others or even her? Do you promise that you will lead your lives into a life of faith and hope in Christ Jesus? Ever honouring God's guidance by His spirit through the Word, And so throughout life, no matter what may lie ahead of you both, do you pledge to her your life as a loving and faithful husband?"

"I do," He said, his voice ringing out around the silent church.

The priest turned to me,

"Do you Rosemarie Hathaway take Dimitri Belikov to be your lawfully wedded Husband? With the deepest joy do you come into his life? And as he has pledged you his greatest love, do you do the same? And in deep joy commit yourself to his headship as to the Lord. And in his greatest relationship with god you will be to. Do you agree to live first unto god, then unto him? By loving him, obeying him, and ever seeking to please him. God has prepared you for him, so will you ever strengthen to, help, strengthen and encourage him? Therefore, throughout your life, no matter what lay ahead of you two, do you pledge to him your life as an obedient and faithful wife?"

I didn't realize I was crying until Dimitri reached up with his thumb and wiped a tear away. Smiling at him through my glassy eyes, I whispered,

"I do."

"It is now time to exchange rings." the priest announced, once we both had gold wedding bands on the third finger of our left hands, the priest smiled and said, "By the power invested in me, by the state of Maryland, I pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Dimitri Vladimir Belikov. You may kiss the bride,"

I threw my arms—bouquet and all—around his neck as he leaned down to kiss me. Our lips met, in a new chapter—a new beginning of our lives. People cheered, and rice came down on us as we walked down the aisle together, me on his arm. On my husband's arm, Lissa, my Mother, and even Abe were crying with happiness. Dimitri opened the limo door for me, and I slipped in, surprised to see that now a 'Just Married' sign had been put on the back.

Dimitri closed the door, and the limo pulled away, towards the Harbour Court hotel. It was about a ten minute drive, and I sighed happily as I leaned into his jacket, he wrapped his arms around me,

"I love you, Roza," He said, kissing my forehead, "I'll always be here for you, I'm not going to let anything happen to you,"

I smiled, "And I won't let anything happen you. There's a reason we are here today,"

"Yes, there is," His voice was muffled with emotion.

We stayed like that for the rest of the journey, and were met at the door, by the hotel staff, who brought us into the ballroom; Lissa and the rest of the wedding party followed us within five minutes. Guests arrived; Dimitri and I had something to say to everyone, as they made their way across the line towards us. Finally, someone announced that it was time to eat, and we made our way to the high table, and ate, laughing, and joking with everyone around.

I was so happy I thought I might burst, my baby seemed to sense it, and was kicking excitedly. I put a hand on my stomach; Dimitri noticed and leaned over to me,

"Are you alright?" He whispered, low enough so only I would hear.

"I'm fine," I murmured, "He's just exited,"

"_She's_ like you when she's exited," Dimitri commented. That was the only thing we disagreed on, whether or not the baby was a boy or a girl.

"I know, _he_ is," I answered, a smile creeping onto my lips,

Dimitri smiled, and turned away.

Later, after all the tables and food had been turned away, Lissa dragged Dimitri and me onto the dance floor—insisting that the "Happy Couple" should dance first. Knowing that arguing would be pointless, we only complied. The music started, and we swayed slowly in each other's arms.

_Another day  
Without your smile  
Another day just passes by  
But now I know  
How much it means  
For you to stay  
Right here with me_

The time we spent apart will make our love grow stronger  
But it hurt so bad I can't take it any longer

"I wanna grow old with you," Dimitri murmured in my ear, "I wanna die lying in your arms. I wanna grow old with you, I wanna be looking in your eyes, I wanna be there for you. Sharing in everything you do, I wanna grow old with you,"

Tears filled my eyes, and I hugged him closer to me.

"This song fits us perfectly," I murmured, silently crying, "So perfectly,"__

A thousand miles between us now  
It causes me to wonder how  
Our love tonight remains so strong  
It makes our risk right all along

The time we spent apart will make our love grow stronger  
But it hurt so bad I can't take it any longer

I wanna grow old with you  
I wanna die lying in your arms  
I wanna grow old with you  
I wanna be looking in your eyes  
I wanna be there for you  
Sharing everything you do  
I wanna grow old with you 

_I wanna grow old with you_

Once the song ended, people cheered, Dimitri stayed wrapped in my arms, and whispered in my ear,

"Once a man gave his wife twelve roses', one of the roses' was fake, when he gave them to her, he said, 'I will love you until the last rose dies,'" He looked up, to where Lissa was coming towards us—with a bouquet of roses'. I could easily see a fake one, she handed them to me, and I turned to Dimitri, crying with happiness,

"I love you," I whispered,

"Until the last rose dies," He whispered, kissing my forehead,

Lissa handed me the roses' and I used them to throw behind me, Dimitri danced with his Mother and me with Abe. The night wore on, and slowly, Dimitri saw me becoming more and more exhausted, being pregnant, and on my feet all day was getting to me.

"Come with me," He murmured, pulling me through the crowd, saying goodbye to as many people as we could find, before he finally pulled me to the desk, and we checked in.

We got on the elevator, and went up to our room, I was happy to find that my suitcase was already up there. For a few days, as a sort of honeymoon, we were going to be staying in the Harbour court. Only coming out of our room when they dragged us out, Dimitri helped me get off my dress, and slowly, I looked through the suitcase, only in thongs and a lacy bra, before I found what Lissa and I had chosen for my wedding night.

I changed in the bathroom, and looked at myself in the mirror.

Even pregnant, this nightgown—if you could call it that- looked pretty hot. It was black lace, and hugged my body. I hadn't thought it would work, with my outfacing stomach, but it did. I took my hair down, and after a deep breath._ Its only Dimitri_, I reminded myself, we've done this a million times before. But, now that it was… if I was in medieval times, legal under good, or whatever.

When I came out, Dimitri's eyes basically boggled out of his head. He was lying on the bed, with the first few buttons of his dress shirt undone, and his jacket and tie resting on a chair. I walked over to the bed, and raised my eyebrows,

"You see something you like?"

My exact words to him in the lounge, only this time he didn't respond with a negative, or an order, all he said was—while he leaned towards me, his face inches from mine- was,

"Yes."

And then he kissed me.


	18. Stars are Falling

**.A.N: LAST CHAPTER! EPILOUGE LEFT!**

**This. Is. The. Final. Chapter. I can't believe it! It's taken me two months exactly to write this story. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and I hope you look forward to the epilogue, which will be up Thursday at the latest. **

**Since some of you have asked, the sequel is called **_Forever Gone, Forever You_**, and will be up the second I finish my version of Last Sacrifice. **

**Thank you all for the reviews! Epilogue tomorrow!**

**Take care,**

**RozaRedbird**

Until the Last Rose Dies  
Chapter 18: Stars are Falling

When I woke up, I was wrapped in Dimitri's arms. I raised myself on my elbow, and looked around, the curtains weren't drawn, and light was pouring in through the window. Off to one side, I saw the nightgown I'd been wearing the night before tossed to the side, Dimitri's shirt lay crumpled on the bed between us.

The memory of the night before brought back a rush of emotions. I had no idea such pleasure was possible. Sighing contentedly, I dropped my head back to the pillow, and closed my eyes. I still kept my eyes closed as I felt Dimitri awaken, and his arm, which rested over my stomach began to stroke it. I could feel that my baby was asleep now. Under Dimitri's light touch, it moved—either waking up or just moving in its sleep. I wondered what children dreamed about before they were born—all they knew was the comfort of their Mother's womb.

I felt Dimitri lean down and kiss my stomach, running his fingers along my belly's curve. I still kept my eyes closed, though I knew he knew I was awake. Slowly, he kissed up my stomach, leaving behind a trail of kisses, before he finally reached my mouth, he kissed me a few times, and I let him, a few times before I responded. I was lying on my back, and Dimitri leaned over me easily, resting on his elbow. He pulled back, and smiled,

"Good morning, my Roza," He murmured, running a finger along my jaw line.

I shivered under his touch, "Good morning."

He traced my lips, "What do you want to do today?"

"Anything," I mumbled under his lips, "If you want to go up to New York, I'd be happy to do that. But… on the other hand, I'd also be happy just staying here,"

"Here in Baltimore?" Dimitri asked,

"Here in the room," I corrected.

"Hmm…" He murmured, nuzzling his head into my neck, "I don't know how I feel about that idea,"

"Why?" I asked, he had rested his head on my chest now, I wrapped my arms around him, content to stay like that forever, "We finally have legal leave to stay like this forever, and you don't want too?"

"I never said I didn't want too," He mumbled, I could tell he was still tired, I only chucked to myself, and stroked his hair away from his forehead, before I kissed it. Leaning against me, I felt him fall back asleep. I was tired myself, but I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes. I was content to stay awake, just to hear him breathing, and watch him completely unguarded and vulnerable as he slept.

_February 20__th_

Two weeks. I had two weeks (roughly) left to wait for my baby. I was impatient beyond belief. I was so sick of being pregnant, only being able to feel my baby, not see him. But, thankfully, our baby was as impatient as I was, I thought dryly, as the muscles in my back tightened painfully. I gritted my teeth. This was the second one this hour. It would be awhile until my son was actually born.

Once the pain ended, I relaxed into the bed. I opened one eye and looked at the time, Seven Twenty Eight AM. I had been having them since midnight, and they had been speeding up, now I had one roughly every twenty minutes. There was still time to wait, though. Dimitri rolled over in the bed beside me making a small contented groaning sound. A moment later I felt his arms wrap around me. He kissed my neck,

"I love you," He whispered, "Good morning,"

"I love you too," I murmured, relaxing into his arms.

He moved himself so he was hovering over me, despite my growing belly, ever since the wedding we had made love every morning, before getting up, and going about the day. It was as usual for us as breathing.

I guess this was why Dimitri was surprised when I pushed him away.

"Dimitri… no," I sat up, and swung my legs over the side of the bed, rubbing my back.

It only took him a minute to get it. "You're having the baby,"

"No, shit, Sherlock," I muttered, Dimitri pulled me back down.

"Stay here, let me get dressed, then I'll take you to the hospital,"

"No," I said again, "Its to early, all we'll do is just sit there, its only been seven hours since the contractions started com—"

"Seven hours?" Dimitri said looking at me, "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Because I know there's a lot of time left. We'll go when my water breaks," I said, "There will be a few hours after that, but until then, I don't see a point,"

"At least let me take the day off work," He asked, looking at me tiredly. I nodded—too tired to fight with him, and got out of the bed. I dressed slowly, taking extra care—a thousand times more aware how each movement felt. When I had finished, I waddled into the kitchen, where Dimitri was making breakfast.

I decided to try and eat something—despite my body's immediate repealed response to the idea of food—because I knew whatever I would go through in the next few days would be just that much more bearable, with food in me. Dimitri seemed to think the same thing, and kept it light enough, setting a plate of scrambled eggs without anything on them in front of me. I smiled wearily, and picked up a fork.

While I ate, Dimitri watched me like a bomb that was about to explode, when I finished, I picked up the water he had poured for me, and drank it in one long gulp. Finally I sat it down, and glanced up, meeting my husband's eyes.

"Dimitri, really, I'm fine," I shrugged, "Its—"

The end of the word turned into a groan as pain knifed through me, for a minute, it seemed as if my entire body was about to rip apart into two pieces, Dimitri was up, and by my side as I moaned my way through it.

"Forgive me, Roza," He said, dryly, as we both straitened up once the contraction had ended, "It's perfectly natural for you to give birth, and it's perfectly natural for me to worry about you,"

I only nodded, resting my head on his shoulder, rubbing my belly, trying to regain the strength that had just been drained out of me.

The rest of the day passed in the same way, Dimitri and I spent the entire time in the living room, me leaning up against him. After a little persuasion on his part, I finally called my Doctor—and let him know that it was the day, he had told me to continue doing exactly what I was doing, and come in, when the contractions were about three to four minutes apart. Or once my water broke—whichever came first.

It had gone past six at night, and the contracts were coming roughly every six to seven minutes apart, I was now stretched out on the couch, with a pillow from our bed under my head, and a blanket over me, Dimitri sat on the floor by me, trying to soothe me as each one came and went. It still wasn't time to go yet. Once we got there, I would be able to have an Epidural. The pain would be numbed enough to be bearable.

I whimpered turning and screaming into my pillow, so I wouldn't bother the neighbours. Dimitri—his face grim, as he watched me battle my way through the latest pain—stroked my hair, making 'shh' noises. Another one came directly after that pain, and with it, I felt something pop, or break, and when I looked down, my sweatpants were soaked with what appeared to be water.

Dimitri was up and moving, before I had even realized what had happened. He had his duster on, and then came to help me into my coat, grabbing the keys; he helped me down to the parking lot. Things progressed quickly. I was now feeling pain every three minutes.

Dimitri turned around the car, and drove out of the parking lot by our building. I groaned, and bent over, hugging my stomach. Two minutes.

"They're getting closer," He muttered more to himself then me, "This isn't good,"

I felt like responding with a 'no shit' comment, but stayed quiet; I knew he was just as stressed as I was. Maybe more so.

He put one of his hands over mine, "We'll be there soon,"

I gritted my teeth and nodded, straightening up. Pain flooded my body, accompanied with—

"Dimitri, pull over," I said suddenly.

He looked at me alarmed, "What's wrong?"

"Pull over!"

"What—"

"Pull over!"

He did, and I stumped out of the car, much to his alarm, and was violently sick, when I had finished, I slumped back against the car, in to much pain to get back in.

Dimitri stood by my side, his cell phone in his hand,

"I'm calling an ambulance," He told me, "You need help, now."

It was rush hour, so despite the fact that we were only a few minutes' drive away, I saw his reasoning. Sitting back down, with my legs out of the car, I tried to focus on taking deep breaths, and not vomiting again. I saw him talking on the phone, but language didn't mean anything to me anymore. He stood by me, stroking my shoulder, and trying to comfort me as best as he could.

He was abruptly pushed out of the way by an EMT who helped me out of the car, and onto a stretcher, within minutes; I was in an ambulance with Dimitri standing beside me,

"She just started vomiting," He told someone, his eyes still on me, "It wasn't blood, though… I'm pretty sure it wasn't," a strained note in his voice told me that he hoped it wasn't, but hadn't been able to see very well in the dark light.

"OK—its common enough to be sick during labour," an EMT said, "I'm going to check her to make sure that it will be safe for her and the baby if we get to the hospital before delivery," She did so, and straightened up again, "Um… okay, I don't think we'll be able to wait,"

I looked up at her wearily, "What?"

"I need to ask you to remove your pants and underwear,"

I did so, immensely confused, but also in too much pain to ask many questions. She spread my legs, and put the stretcher in a sitting position, laying out a sterile plastic sheet.

"OK, Rose, I want you to just push lightly when I say, OK?" I nodded, "OK—go!" I pushed lightly, before I heard her exclaim, "Stop!"

I looked up at her alarmed, Dimitri, whose hand I'd been clutching for the entire time in the ambulance looked up.

"Is something wrong?"

"No…" She smiled then, "It's just that, that last push almost delivered your baby,"

It was that close, I almost felt Dimitri's excitement radiating through him. I looked up at his face, but as I did a contraction bore through me, accompanied by the urge to push, ignoring everything, I bore down, the EMT didn't seemed surprised by this, and only edged me along.

I sort of felt when the ambulance stopped. The EMT stood up from where she had been crouched between my legs.

"We're not going to try and get you up to a room before the baby gets here—but we do want to see if we can get a Doctor down here," She smiled, "Try to pant—doggie breaths for the next couple of contractions, it will lesson the chance of anything tearing during the birth,"

I nodded, and leaned against Dimitri. I was so tired. A few moments later, the door opened, and a Doctor in scrubs came in.

"Hello, Rose,"

Everyone was so cheerful. I felt like slapping him. I forced a kind of smile, "Hey,"

He turned to the EMT—who had just closed the doors for privacy, "Can I have some gloves, please?"

He checked me, and disagreed that trying to get me up to a room, when the baby was so close to being born would be a bad idea—it would be more sterile, and easier. Upon seeing my face, he explained that they would only take me to a room in the Emergency room—not up to the Maternity Ward—they'd do that after the baby was born. I reluctantly agreed, and they covered my lower half, and got me out of the ambulance.

It amazed me at how quickly they got me into a room, or maybe that's because I was counting in contractions, and focusing on not pushing, the baby being born in the hallway would be a bag thing. They got me into a bed, and pulled a curtain around us. Two nurses held my legs back, and my hand gripped Dimitri's. The doctor began to get everything ready, I groaned as a contraction rolled through me, making me certain that my body was really going to tear,

"Alright, Rose… push!"

Rest, push, rest, push, rest… I leaned my head against Dimitri's chest; he wrapped an arm around me

.

"This is your entire fault." I mumbled

"My entire fault? I don't think so." I couldn't see his face, but I knew he was smiling dryly.

"You seduced me."

"You said yes."

"That's not the point."

"Then what is?"

"It's still your fault."

"How so?"

"It just is."

"As I recall, you were the one saying 'yes, yes, yes'."

"Only because I wanted to."

"You're not making any sense."

Another contraction came, and I wasn't able to reply. I bore down with every ounce of strength I had, and again, I felt the worst pain of my life, and stopped,

"Don't stop, it's the baby's head, we're nearly there, only a few more pushes," The Doctor said, "C'mon, Rose, push!"

I did as he asked, and again, half an hour seemed to pass, but when I glanced back at the clock, I realized it had only been three minutes. I gripped Dimitri's hand, and pushed, crying out in pain. Pain was all I knew, and then shadowy blackness, I heard Dimitri's voice, prompting me, and slowly, the room came into more focus again,

"Just one more push Roza, one more push and we'll have our baby." He murmured in my ear, "Don't stop now,"

I cried out in pain, and pushed, determined to end this pain, I could feel the baby between my legs—I was so close to holding him in my arms. About one and half pushes later, I felt the baby slide out of my body. I sank back into the pillows, Dimitri, smiling broadly, tears of joy already streaming down his face, kissed my forehead and my mouth.

"You did it, Roza! You did it!"

He then moved away, I closed my eyes, hearing Dimitri's low voice talking to someone, but being too tired to register any words, I felt him by my side, and as I opened my eyes, a nurse approached the bed, holding a bundle,

"Would you like to hold your daughter, Rose?"

"My… daughter?"

A girl? Not my beautiful baby Mason? I felt like Bella, with the disbelief when she had a girl. Did I even know this child? I let my eyes wander to the bundle the nurse held towards me, I saw a pink face and warm lips, the exact shade Dimitri's were—of course I knew her. She was my daughter. Of course I was always going to have a girl… this was my baby, my little girl. I reached for her, pulling her gently towards me

I inspected the baby's face, Rosalie had Dimitri's lips, my eyes, I noted, as she opened them, and stared around the room. I pushed back her little cap to inspect her hair; it was the same colour as Dimitri's. Inspecting her face, I saw Dimitri's features everywhere, intertwined with mine. But mostly his features, nobody could doubt, despite Dhampir infertility that this baby wasn't his daughter.

Dimitri stood by me, as the nurses filed out, I knew I would be moved—but later, they were trying to give us some privacy in which to inspect our beautiful daughter. I looked up at him; he was beaming, tears streaming down his face. He reached out a hand, and stroked the baby's face.

"Ours," He whispered, "Only ours,"

"Yes," I whispered, "Our little girl,"

He nodded, to overcome with emotion to speak. And as I looked back down at our daughter, I understood. This was the reason people lived, the little baby in my arms was the reason that I had sacrificed my life as a Guardian—the reason me and Dimitri had turned our backs on everything we had been taught to believe in. She was worth it. She was sent to rescue us, had she never been born, we would both have ended up being Guardians. She saved us.

"Do you want to hold her?" I asked, leaning forwards, Dimitri seemed a little uncertain, I laughed softly, "You've killed Strigoi, and you're nervous about holding your own daughter?"

"She's half you. I should be terrified," He said,

"Come on," I said, holding Rosalie out to her Father, Rosalie seemed to recognize who he was, and made little whimpering noises, as if she couldn't wait to be held in his arms, "She wants you,"

Something clicked into place in Dimitri, the same way it had in me, he reached forward, and took her in his arms. After a moment, he touched her cheek,

"She's so beautiful…" He looked up at me again, as I lay sleepily against the pillows, watching them, "Alright, I'll take full responsibility, it was all my fault, I'm sorry,"

"What? It wasn't your entire fault!"

"I seduced you,"

"I said yes,"

"That's not the point,"

"Then what is?"

"It's my entire fault,"

"No it isn't,"

"Yes it is,"

"How so?"

"It just is,"

We looked at each other for a long moment, before I laughed, and reached for her again, as a nurse entered.

"We need to get you up to your room, Mrs. Belikov," She said, "We'll take your daughter to the nursery, and bring her back up once you've had rest,"

"What? No!" I said, "Why can't Dimitri just take care of her while I rest?"

"She needs to have her Doctor's appointment, standard procedure, I'm sure nothing's wrong,"

"Can't Dimitri go with you?" I didn't like the idea of my daughter being all alone, with only nurses and unfamiliar hands and voices.

"If he wants too,"

I looked over at Dimitri,

"I'll go," He said, as I handed Rosalie over to the nurse. Dimitri reached down and kissed my forehead, "You need rest, Rose, you've worked hard today."

"When it's over, bring her back to me," I begged him, he kissed my forehead again.

"I will." He promised.

RDRDRDR

When I woke again, I was in another room. I remembered coming up here, putting on a hospital nightgown, and falling asleep, but I couldn't exactly remember why I was here. Was something wrong with my baby? I reached down, and felt my stomach, flat—or flat as in no baby. I panicked, before I remembered everything, sleep falling away.

Rosalie was born. I had seen her, my beautiful Rosalie. Smiling, I turned over in the bed, and saw Dimitri sleeping against a wall. Remembering his promise to bring her back, I looked around the room—before my eyes rested on a little bed with four walls by the side of my bed. In it, as I peered over, I saw Rosalie sleeping, leaning over; I placed a kiss on her forehead, and I turned back to Dimitri, a magazine rested on the nightstand, and I picked it up, and read through it, surrounded by my family.

Dimitri woke some twenty minutes after I did. I put down the magazine, and looked up at him,

"Hey,"

"Hello," He smiled, "Do you realize what day it is?"

"The twentieth of February," I answered, "Rosalie was born today,"

"Naturally," Dimitri said, smiling, and then realizing my confusion, he spoke explained, "It's the year anniversary of the Strigoi attack."

I blinked. A year. It had only been a year since that fearful day in the caves. It didn't seem possible. But, so much had happened that didn't seem possible, that I didn't feel like arguing,

"Hmm…" I said sleepily, gazing up at him, as he stood by my bed, "I would remember that date for a completely different reason, and wonder if we can be quiet enough to replay it?"

Dimitri smirked, "I don't think Rosalie needs to see that. Besides, the Doctor told me that we should wait at least six weeks before taking up... activities again. I don't think you would enjoy it very much today, anyway."

"Why not?" I asked,

He raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Roza, you had a baby today,"

I turned towards our daughter, "Yes… I did, and I couldn't imagine any child being more perfect."

He watched my gaze, and looked at our beautiful sleeping baby, before he finally kissed my forehead, when he pulled back, he leaned his forehead on mine, and whispered,

"Neither can I," He whispered, "Thank you, Roza… thank you for giving me a daughter… giving me a family,"

I reached up, and tried to find his mouth, he realized what I wanted, and pressed his lips slowly to mine,

"You're welcome," I whispered, "I love you,"

He pulled back, gazing into my eyes,

"Until the last rose dies," He promised.

THE END

EPILOUGE TO COME SOON


	19. The End

**.A.N: The End**

**I hope you guys liked this. Thanks to Lorraine who apparently gave the link to everyone in the school… tell them to give it to their friends/family to read it (or random people on Facebook). **

**To all the others, thanks for the reviews! Sequel is the 25****th**** of July. **

**Take care,**

**RozaRedbird **

Until the Last Rose Dies

The End

**DIMITRI**

_Four Years Later_

"Daadddyyy!"

At the cry, my head snapped up, I left my place by Rose and ran towards where my two year old son had just fallen by the slide. It made my heart clench to see him on the ground, his light brown eyes—identical to mine—scrunched up in pain. Without hesitation, I picked him up. Standing awkwardly I held him against my hip.

"Shh… shh…" I said, "You're alright, baby's alright, Mason's alright,"

He sniffed against my shoulder, his awkward sobs turning into sniffs, I walked back towards Rose, she moved a little aside on the grass so I could sit next to her without disturbing Mason. Once I had successfully gotten down, Mason moved so he lying on his back in my lap, his head leaning against my arm. His bright eyes looked up at me happily.

"Did you fall?" Rose asked him,

"Yeah, I fell by the swide," He said, "I hurt knee,"

"Aw," She said, looking at the small scrape on his knee, she leaned forward, and kissed it, making Mason giggle, "There, a kiss makes it all better."

He leaned forward, towards Rose, and she pulled him into her lap. He grabbed onto her hair, and begun playing with it. Her hair matched his perfectly. When it would be a lie to say that Rosalie didn't look like me, it would be a crime to say that Mason didn't look like his Mother. He'd been born three months before our second wedding anniversary… having been conceived on our first wedding anniversary… or at least, that's what Rose believed. I went along with it since it made sense. It didn't really matter to me; all that mattered was that he had been born. I smiled, watching them.

"Daddy?"

I glanced towards the voice, squinting as my eyes came into contact with the sun, Rosalie walked towards me, being trailed by about three different children who I'd never seen before. From somewhere, and my guess was Lissa—despite the fact that Rose was Rosalie's Mother, but it probably was a shadow-kissed thing—from somewhere, Rosalie had inherited the ability to pull people towards her… I wasn't really sure. People liked Rose, but people weren't… drawn to her like people who worked with Spirit were. Of course, what did I know? Rosalie was the daughter of two Dhampirs—one of whom, as much as I hated to say it, was supposed to be dead—a lot of things could be possible.

"Yeah?" I answered,

"I wanted to show you to my friends," She turned back to her friends, "That's my Daddy,"

"Hello," I said, smiling, my daughter was a wonderful little nutcase.

There were a few mumbles of 'Hi' I smiled, and glanced over my shoulder at Rose and Mason,

"That's my Mommy, and my little brother, Mason,"

"Posie, Posie!" Mason said, on cue.

Rosalie and her friends ran off, and I smiled over at Rose, as Mason—who appeared to feel all better now, ran off too. I pulled Rose closer; she leaned against me, smiling,

"Lissa called, by the way," She said, "Was I really this bad when I was making wedding plans?"

"Worse," I said, "Lissa isn't pregnant. She doesn't have such bad mood swings,"

"Hey! I did not, have mood swings,"

"You cried because _Mean Girls_ wasn't on."

"That doesn't count," She said, "It's a good movie. I would be upset now if it wasn't on."

"You wouldn't cry about it," I pointed out.

"If I was pregnant, and cried about it, then I don't see why I won't a second time round. Or a third time, rather,"

I looked at her, "What are you saying?"

"What do you think I'm saying?" She asked playfully,

"You're not… are you?" I asked in disbelief.

"Only a month along," She smiled, "Not twins, though,"

I stared wide eyed at her, "How long have you known?"

"About a week,"

"And you didn't tell me?"

"You where on a business trip, telling you on the phone seemed a little mean," She smiled, "You're happy about it, right?"

I kissed her, pushing her down into the grass with me, "I couldn't be happier. Thank you, Roza,"

"For another baby?"

"For you," I murmured, kissing her again, "For us, for this life,"

It was true. I was glad I wasn't a Guardian, that I hadn't let Rose get away, happy that we had a daughter and son. We can't sit around, avoiding the things we want, "just in case". Doing that only leads to a life that would be as well as gone. Keeping the odds at bay and never taking a risk isn't living, it's surviving.

And it's not the way to exist.  
Nothing is sure in life.  
No guarantees.  
And sometimes that's the better way to live  
Because, at the end of the day,  
_We cannot change the cards were dealt;_  
_Just how we play the hand._

The End


	20. Author's Note

Author's Note:

Hello, guys! I just wanted to let you know that the sequel is up! Thank you to everyone who gave me support throughout the entire story! I can't thank you guys enough! You are all so awesome, and I adore reading your reviews! Thank you all so much!

This story is dedicated to all the awesome friends in my life who inspired me to write! I love you guys so much! You are awesome!

Thank you all for reviewing, guys! I hope the sequel meets your hopes!

~ShadowKissed13~


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